


My Little Lesbean™

by strawberrystars



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, British Transfer Student Allura™, Collaborationnnnnn, Comedy, F/F, Fandom Trash, Female pronouns for Pidge, Fluff, Forgive Me, Gay British Dads (Coran and Alfor), Happy Ending, History Teacher Shiro, I came up with this while sick and in need of gay shit™, Lance and Hunk best support team, Lots of Angst, Nerdiness, Romantic Comedy, Sam Holt who's that, Short Chapters, Slow Burn, Very happy ending, and it got dark, despite the short chapters it's a longass story, he dead, it's high school life though man, lots and lots of fluff, lots of hidden or not nerdiness, probably more angst than fluff overall lmao, the characters are literally fandom trash, this story has become my life and soul oops, waiter keith, yay for cliche dorkiness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-19
Updated: 2018-10-13
Packaged: 2018-11-16 04:48:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 49
Words: 99,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11246643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberrystars/pseuds/strawberrystars
Summary: Pidge is constantly getting into trouble for various things, like hacking into the school's emailing system to send memes to everyone with Lance, raiding the kitchen for snacks to bring to game club with Hunk, and 'accidentally' throwing binders aimed at Lance.Of course, one of those times, the binder hits the passing-by principal instead, and that time is special because instead of having to write an apology letter, she has to give an orientation and tutor the new transfer student.She really would rather have written an apology letter.Updates Sunday’s! (as of 10/7/18)[ Collab with my bff @misty.dragonfly (insta -- tumblr is mistydragonflyart) because she's Awesome™ and she's doing art as well as helping with some storyline stuff, I am blessed to have this being in my life (ily Adri) ]





	1. "I'm gay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> note as of 6/6/18:  
> music to listen to for this chapter is "Friends" by Hedley  
> and obviously, to match the title, "Everyone is Gay" by A Great Big World also goes

“There are many, many theories out there.”

History class was always a bore. What made it worse was that it was the first thing in their schedule. The three of them sat in the back at the same table, by themselves. The Cuban had his head rested on his arms, his eyes closed and drool dripping onto the table of a desk from his slightly opened mouth. The Samoan stared at the teacher with droopy eyes, resting his cheek in his hand and not actually paying any attention. Then there was the short geek sitting in between them, nearly half their height which caused for an easy mistaking of a middle schooler in the wrong building, who was tapping a pencil on the desk while staring the teacher down through round glasses covering brown eyes.

The teacher could clearly see them, his broad shoulders slumping a bit since he knew at least half of the first period class was asleep, but he kept a smile on his face. He ran a hand through his bleached white bangs, then scratching the buzz-cut black hair behind his ear and continuing with his lecture.

“Correct me if I’m wrong,” the teacher politely said, meeting the geek’s eyes. His face dropped, regret finally painting his face as the geek’s eyes sparkled. He cleared his throat and continued anyway. “The expedition was unsuccessful due to the pilot’s inability to steer clear of a black hole.”

The geek’s little, pale arm shot into the air.

The teacher sighed. “What is it, Pidge?”

“Actually, the expedition failed because the spaceship got torn apart by the black hole’s force since they miscalculated the exact perimeters of the hole.”

The entire class groaned as the geek stood up, despite the Samoan lightly tugging on the green sleeve at the top of the pale arm with a stern look. The geek took in a deep breath before continuing.

The entire period was wasted, Pidge going on about the Hanson Holt Expedition of ‘97.

“I’m surprised you still go on about these expeditions so easily,” the Cuban yawned insensitively as the three made their way down the hallway.

The Cuban received a roll of the eyes. “The ‘97 expedition had no one in the ship, Lance. The teacher should know these things if he’s supposed to be teaching us.”

The Cuban rolled his eyes too. “You just like being right.”

“Being right isn't a bad thing. You should do it more,” Pidge snapped back.

“It’s too early for this,” the Samoan groaned, running his hand over his sleep-deprived expression.

“Hunk! I just got insulted and all you do is _groan?_ I’m thoroughly hurt.” Lance made everything dramatic; that was nothing new.

“Lance, just leave Pidge alone,” the Samoan sighed, shifting narrowed eyes towards him.

“What?! How is this on me?!” Lance exclaimed, offended.

Hunk exhaled deeply, his shoulders slumping as he looked forward again. “Why are Friday’s so annoying?” he muttered.

“Because the weekend’s only a few hours away,” Pidge pointed out.

“Thanks for that, Little Pigeon,” Lance sarcastically stated.

Pidge shot narrowed eyes in his direction. “Don’t call me that.”

“What should I call you instead? Should I go back to using Lesbean?” Lance shot back.

A binder flew past him, all three pairs of eyes following it as it soared past the side of Lance’s ear and directly towards their principal as he passed by.

 

Pidge had been to the principal’s office way too many times. Being dragged by the arm, holding the thrown binder under the other, the principal brought Pidge into the office next to the principal’s office -- the office labled _Assistant Principal Honerva Haggar_.

“Honerva, you deal with her,” the principal groaned, releasing his large hand from Pidge’s tiny arm.

The woman sitting at the desk in the office sighed in her direction, crossing her arms on the desk with narrowed eyes. “Katie, what did you do this time?”

Pidge slumped down into the chair in front of the woman’s desk, guiltily mumbling, “Threw a binder and hit Dr. Zarkon.” Pidge didn't bother reminding Mrs. Haggar for the millionth time that she went by Pidge since she knew she was already in a lot of trouble.

The assistant principal sighed. “And what are you going to do about it?”

“Write another apology letter,” Pidge answered in a groan, slouching in her chair.

Mrs. Haggar shook her head with narrowed eyes. It was always awful when Mrs. Haggar narrowed her eyes since then the bright purple eyeshadow she decided to wear with everything was prominent, unlike when she was normally staring at people. A bronze would fit her dark skin tone and dark brown eyes much better. Her hair was completely white on top of everything.

Mrs. Haggar opened her mouth to tell her whatever she was going to, but the phone saved Pidge. Pidge let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding as Mrs. Haggar picked up the phone.

“I’m with a student right now.” Mrs. Haggar eyed Pidge with an icy stare.

There was a pause while the voice on the other end spoke. Mrs. Haggar spun in her chair slowly, turning her back to Pidge.

"Yes, it’s Katie,” Mrs. Haggar sighed at the window.

There was another pause.

Mrs. Haggar let out a sigh by itself. “I suppose that would work better than an apology letter. I’ll email her teachers.”

Tension in Pidge’s heart built as she listened. Apparently, that was the last of Mrs. Haggar’s responses. She spun her chair back around, rubbing the bridge of her nose with a groan as she hung up. She leaned back in her chair as she glared at Pidge.

“It’s been decided that instead of writing an apology letter, this time, you’re going to show a new student around, then tutor her. You have to be on your best behavior with this student; she’s related to the principal.”

In that moment, Pidge was thankful for whoever had saved her ass and got her out of classes for the day.

Mrs. Haggar stood from her chair and directed Pidge out of her office. Their visits were usually much longer, so Pidge also thanked whoever saved her for that, too. Pidge followed Mrs. Haggar’s lead as they headed to the lobby, where the principal was at the moment, standing with two other men and another person mostly hidden from Pidge’s view due to the two strangers. They were all talking and laughing, their voices carrying easily in the high-ceilinged entrance hallway. That allowed the distinct British accents of the two men to stick out.

“I’m quite sure she’ll be just fine with some tutoring!” one of the men ensured with a bright smile, which contrasted the orange mustache above it. His curly, orange hair was kept out of his face using a black hairclip smack dab in the middle of the top of his head. He simply wore a white button-up shirt and beige khakis.

The other man laughed. He looked very similar to the principal, both of them with dark skin, bright blue eyes, and silver hair. He was wearing a blue blazer with black formal pants of some sort.

In other words, they seemed like people Pidge was going to have trouble with.

The principal glanced over, spotting Pidge and Mrs. Haggar. He sighed. “Well, here she is.”

Mrs. Haggar stopped Pidge in front of the men, putting a hand on Pidge’s shoulder when she was close enough to see the detail on everyone’s faces -- and the extra person that had been hidden. “Katie, this is Allura. Allura, this is Katie. She will be your guide and tutor as you make yourself at home here.”

Pidge couldn’t believe her eyes. The hidden person was just as tall as the men she was standing in between, making her at least six feet tall. She herself had dark skin and bright blue eyes, though the roots of her hair were black while the rest had clearly been dyed silver. What stuck out more than her silver waves was the dress she was wearing; it was pink and had two cat faces at the chest, which of course drew Pidge’s attention to the curves that she had.

The girl extended her hand with a bright smile. “It’s wonderful to meet you! Thank you for helping me on such short notice.” She had the accent, too.

Despite the odd fashion and hair choices of the British girl standing in front of her, all Pidge could think about was one thing.

“I’m gay.”

 


	2. "I'm sixteen."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yo yo yo i realized i forgot to make notes in the first chapter so here, these will probably be the only notes i make
> 
> so the tags and what's already in the description pretty much summarizes everything to know about this fic here  
> it's p much entirely fluff though that shouldn't be surprising
> 
> for any new readers, i (alix, the author) am chronically ill and have lots of trouble obtaining the energy to write so yes chapters are short but updates are weekly (as of 6/6/18)
> 
> also edit 6/6/18: song for this chapter is "Girls/Girls/Boys" by Panic! At The Disco
> 
> anywho enjoy the intense gayness of this story

Allura blinked at Pidge, confused. “Sorry, what was that?”

Pidge was extremely thankful she’d only muttered her comment under her breath. Pidge shook her head and cleared her throat, taking Allura’s hand while attempting to conceal the blush growing on her cheeks. “It’s nice to meet you too,” she tried to say monotonically, though her voice was shaking quite a bit. A really hot British transfer student was standing in front of her and shaking her hand; how could she not be nervous?

Pidge got her shoulder patted by Mrs. Haggar again. “Alright, I’ll leave it up to you. You have the rest of the day off if and _only_ if you behave yourself for the remainder of the day. Now, run along.”

Pidge nodded and slipped her hands into the pockets of her jeans, nodding her head at Allura to gesture the direction they were escaping from the adults in. Though, Pidge wasn’t completely sure she wanted to escape since then it was only going to be the two of them, and based on how awkward Pidge was already feeling with the butterflies in her stomach, things weren’t going to get any better. Only worse.

“Are you a junior?” Allura questioned, her smile back.

Pidge nodded with narrowed eyes. She could feel Allura questioning her actual age just because she was short -- even though that wasn’t new, it still bothered her.

Allura’s smile stayed unwavering. “I like your shirt.”

Pidge looked down. She’d genuinely forgotten what shirt she was wearing that day; it was a light gray, long-sleeved shirt with one pocket on the top left that had a simple colorful design of a little planet and some stars. She looked back up at Allura with a blank expression since she was mostly confused now. Her shirt was so simple compared to what Allura was wearing, yet Allura was complimenting it. “Uh, thanks.” Pidge looked at Allura’s dress again before stretching her neck back up to look at Allura’s face. “Your dress is… interesting.” Pidge didn’t really know how you were supposed to compliment a very odd dress she personally would definitely not wear.

The height difference was slightly aggravating for Pidge. She had to bend her neck nearly all the way backwards to be able to see Allura’s eyes.

“Oh! I nearly forgot!” Allura suddenly blurted, pulling a paper out of a hidden pocket in one of the creases of the dress’ skirt. “This is my schedule. Can you help me find my classes?”

Pidge simply nodded and checked over her schedule. The nearest class she had was a tech elective, which Pidge was thankful for.

Until she realized they were in the same class, the same period. That class was one she also had with Lance and Hunk, meaning they’d be all over her about her gay interest in Allura. The butterflies set on fire and sunk in her stomach as Pidge worried over what was going to happen after the weekend. Despite being relieved that it was Friday and there was the weekend awaiting her, the tension in her chest refused to ease up.

There was an awkward silence between them as Pidge lead the way to the tech room.

“Do you like cats?” Allura suddenly blurted.

Pidge simply nodded with a grin in Allura’s direction. “I have two at home. One’s mine, one’s my brother’s.”

“Oh, that’s so sweet! I have five and my dad’s have two, one each,” Allura added.

Pidge was starting to realize how much of a cat lady Allura was. She didn’t exactly want to respond, so she didn’t.

“Have you been told you are adorable? Your height makes you seem like a middle schooler! How old are you really?” Allura giggled, genuinely smiling.

Suddenly Pidge’s liking to Allura dropped, as did her face. “I already told you, I’m a junior, not a middle schooler. I’m sixteen.”

“Sorry, it’s just that you’re so short,” Allura giggled. Pidge didn’t appreciate the cheerfulness Allura was radiating. “You must get mistaken for a middle schooler often.”

Pidge simply let out a grunt in response, which was her silent way of telling Allura to fuck off. Allura got the indication and was quiet.

Pidge made sure not to gaze at Allura again as they walked down to the tech room because she knew she’d get lost in the amazingness that was Allura if she did. But, her height had just been insulted for the millionth time, so she really didn’t want to get lost in Allura. With a soft huff, Pidge stopped in front of the right door and stood on her toes to see into the classroom, checking to see if there was a class. All of the seats in front of the long desks of computers were empty, so Pidge fell back on her heels and opened the door for Allura.

“Oh! Pidge! What are you doing here? Don’t you have a class young miss?” the tech teacher questioned with a bright smile, which contrasted his faded olive tone and his dark brown hair that was patterned on his head in five rows, the middle row the fluffiest of them. His eyes were dark, dark blue, which contrasted everything else on his face as well. He was sitting at his desk in front of the computer lab, where he nearly always was.

Pidge gestured for Allura to step in without looking at her.

“Oh! Who might this be?” the teacher asked.

“Mr. Ulaz, this is Allura, the new insane cat lady that has transferred to our school; please welcome her despite her odd dress preferences,” Pidge said monotonically.

Allura’s face suddenly scrunched, Pidge noticed from the corner of her eye, and she let out a huff while crossing her arms. “Well, that was quite rude.”

Pidge honestly didn’t care. It was fair for her height being mocked.

Mr. Ulaz sighed. “Pidge, please apologize.” He held his hand out to Allura. “It’s very nice to meet you, miss.”

Allura repainted her face with a smile as she shook Mr. Ulaz’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, Mr. Ulaz.”

“What brings you here?” Mr. Ulaz questioned.

Pidge was starting to wonder whether it would’ve been better to write an apology letter and go to classes or not. The pros of being with Allura was getting out of classes for the day, but the cons were having to deal with Allura, her personal gayness, and having more work over the weekend to make up for the classes she missed while showing Allura around. Writing an apology letter sure would be annoying, but it only would’ve taken two minutes and then she’d only have normal homework over the weekend and not have to deal with all the social things being thrown at her.

Pidge didn’t exactly enjoy socializing with anyone but Lance and Hunk. So, she tuned out as Mr. Ulaz got to know Allura better. Pidge was thankful Allura had Mr. Ulaz since she and Mr. Ulaz had been tight since freshman year. After all, Pidge put the most effort in out of everyone in robotics club.

In other words, Mr. Ulaz tolerated Pidge easily, unlike the rest of her teachers.

“You two should go find her other classes before lunch, then if you have the rest of the day off, feel free to drop by. My door is always open.” Mr. Ulaz’s gentle voice matched the gentle grin on his face.

“Thank you! I’m excited to start classes on Monday! See you then!” Allura smiled in return, though of course, her smile matched her overwhelmingly personality. She turned on her heel and began walking out.

Pidge turned as well, shoving one hand in a pocket and lazily waving the other without looking over her shoulder. “Yeah, see you.”

“Actually, Pidge, can I speak to you for a minute?” Mr. Ulaz still stayed gentle, but Pidge could feel he was skeptical about something pertaining to her.

Allura looked back at Pidge with curious eyes. Pidge glanced at her with a quick nod. “Wait for me in the hallway.”

Allura’s face burst into a smile yet again and she walked out, shutting the door behind her.

“What did you do this time?” Mr. Ulaz sighed.

Pidge sighed as well with a guilty smile, guiltily rubbing the back of her neck with the hand that was still free from the captivity of a pocket. “I, uh, tried to throw a binder at Lance but it hit Dr. Zarkon instead since he was passing by… So instead of writing an apology letter for the thousandth time, I had show Allura around and get the rest of the day off.”

Mr. Ulaz shook his head and let out a disappointed huff while learning back in his seat. “Oh, Pidge, what are we going to do with you?”

“Let me be president of the United States?” Pidge put her hands behind her back and squared her shoulder with a smile tugged up at the corners, being a smirk in smile form.

Mr. Ulaz laughed, then grinning at her. “You’re ridiculous.” He nodded at the door. “You better go finish showing her around.”

Pidge’s smile became sincere as she turned and looked over her shoulder with a wave, rushing out. “See you Monday, Mr. Ulaz!”

“See you Monday, Pidge,” Mr. Ulaz called after her before she shut the door.

Of course, the joy that was bubbling in her because of Mr. Ulaz dissipated the instant she laid eyes on Allura’s narrowed eyes.

“Pidge? Whatever does that mean?” Allura interrogated. At least, Pidge felt like she was being interrogated.

Pidge’s eyes dropped themselves as she frowned. “It’s what I prefer to be called. He’s my idol.”

Allura’s eyes widened. She blinked a few times in confusion.

Pidge sighed. “Have you seriously never seen Voltron? It’s a movie character. He pilots one of a team of robot lions to help protect the universe from an evil empire.”

Allura smiled for the hundredth time in the last ten minutes, Pidge felt like. “I haven’t heard of it, so you’ll have to show me sometime! Now, where are we off to next?”

“Closest thing you have is chemistry,” Pidge informed, beginning to walk again.

Allura gasped. “Ooh! Do the teachers keep posters with science puns on them in the classrooms? Or do any of them own cats?” There was a skip in Allura’s step as she walked next to Pidge.

Pidge could feel that it was going to be a long morning.


	3. "Cats for boobs!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> note 6/6/18  
> song for this chapter is "Friends" by Hedley (it's kinda the theme song for mll in my mind so it'll probably appear a lot)

“And she was wearing a dress with cats for boobs, Lance! Cats for _boobs!_ ”

The small diner was pretty much empty on Saturday mornings, meaning it was the perfect place for the loud and excitable threesome to hang out and rant and plan as dramatically as they wanted. The employees had gotten used to them and would join in on the conversation sometimes. The 50’s diner was literally from the 1950’s, renovated every five years to keep it running but keeping its rustic atmosphere with spinny, cushioned stools, white bars and circular tables with color bumped linings, as well as large windows with blinds for too-sunny days and lamps hanging from the ceiling for stormy, dark days. The diner’s scheme was entirely white and red, which made sense since it was named _The Red Top_. Even the waiters and waitresses wore white and red uniforms.

Pidge’s voice nearly echoed her ranting about the insane cat transfer while Lance intently listened, picking at a plate of hash browns, but this morning, Hunk was missing. He had errands to run with his mom, leaving Pidge and Lance to sit in the spinning stools at the bar and rant at each other for a few hours instead of planning for fics, fanart, or charm creations as they usually did the three of them.

Pidge pouted, puffing out one cheek and resting the other in her hand. “I’m just lucky she went home with her dad’s before lunch.”

“So, let me get this straight.” Lance took a deep breath in.“She’s Dr. Zarkon’s brother’s daughter from England, her dad is gay and married, and they’re an insane cat family?” Lance summed up.

“On top of all that, she thought my shirt was cool but she didn’t know what Voltron is!” Pidge let her arm fall so that her head could rest on her arms.

Lance gasped, dropping his fork. “She doesn’t know what the _best_ movie of all time is?”

Pidge lifted her head to shake it with the most serious face she had ever mustered, whispering, “Not at all.”

Lance opened his mouth to respond, though his jaw stayed open while his voice silenced. Pidge narrowed her eyes at him and looked in the direction he was looking and knew exactly what he was looking it.

There was a new waitress they hadn’t seen before serving another regular, a woman named Nyma who fixed up motorbikes down the street in a shop owned by her and her brother. Her blonde hair was always kept out of her face by odd hair clips Pidge assumed she made from parts she couldn’t find uses for, while the long locks were kept in a loose bun with a wrench and a screwdriver today (it changed every week). The new waitress, despite having a resting bitch face, was pretty decent-looking. With black hair barely reaching her shoulders, eyes a dark enough blue to pass as purple in the right lighting, sharp facial features, and a nice height, she could very easily pass for a handsome boy or a gorgeous girl. Of course, Pidge didn’t really care, but she knew what that meant Lance was going to do.

He stuffed the rest of his hash browns in his mouth, then pushing the plate away to signal that he was done.

Pidge smirked at Lance. “Cute, huh?”

Lance shook his head with a scrunched nose, whipping out his phone and seemingly trying to look busy on it. “No. Jaw-dropping gorgeous, Pidge. Jaw. Dropping. Gorgeous.”

Pidge rolled her eyes but smirked again as she noticed the waitress caught on after giving Nyma her fifth cup of coffee. She made her way over, Pidge assuming Lance saw her from the corner of his eyes. She picked up Lance’s plate and took a breath in, about to ask Lance if he’d like anything else, though Lance slapped his phone down and shot a flirtatious smirk at the girl. “You’d be the perfect woman, even if your hair didn’t smell like hash browns and sausages.”

The woman’s face dropped, tugging at the nametag on _his_ shirt. “I’m not a girl. My name is Keith.”

Lance’s face dropped, though he shrugged. “That doesn’t change the fact that you’re gorgeous.”

The _waiter_ known as _Keith_ rolled _his_ eyes and walked away, ignoring Lance’s plate and Lance’s compliment. Pidge snorted trying to hold back her snickering.

“But he’s wearing the waitress uniform,” Lance grumbled guiltily, slumping his shoulders and slouching his spine.

Pidge snorted again, letting out a little snicker. “They probably ran out of waiter uniforms, or didn’t have any at all and are waiting for one to arrive. Yet still, great compliment you gave him, Lance.”

Lance nastily glared at her. “ _You_ try flirting with someone.”

Pidge couldn’t help but let out her laughter. “You got that online, didn’t you? It was so bad!” She had to clutch her stomach while laughing.

“I spiced it up to make it fit the current moment!” Lance huffed defensively, crossing his arms and turning his chin away.

“It was still terrible,” Pidge cackled, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.

“Whatever, Lesbean crushing on a British transfer student,” Lance sneered, shooting her an evil smile.

Pidge’s laughing came to a halt, her narrowing her eyes at Lance. “Just because she’s pretty does _not_ mean I would be interested in a relationship with her. She’s insane.”

“What’s her name even?” Lance snorted, going back to casually talking with Pidge.

That was the drill with the two teenage wrecks; casually talk, get into an argument or laugh at each other in whatever order, and go back to casual talk.

Pidge sighed. “Her name’s Allura. Weird name, huh? I haven’t heard that one before.”

Suddenly Lance’s eyes popped out of his head. Pidge raised an eyebrow at him as he put a hand on her shoulder and began shaking it.

“Wait, Pidge! Allura! The princess in Voltron is Allure. Sure, it has a silent ‘e’ at the end, but it’s still the same!”

Pidge gasped, her eyes popping out of her head as well as she openly smiled at Lance. “Lance, we just met a Keith too! That makes four paladins and the Altean princess! All we need is a Sven now!”

Lance stood up from his seat -- sort of. He stood on the footrest attached to the spinning stool and leaned over the counter. “Keith!”

The mulleted waiter glanced in Lance’s direction with a glare.

“Have you seen Voltron?” Lance shouted at him.

Keith raised an eyebrow at Lance and slowly nodded while drying a clean cup.

Lance’s eyes sparkled while his mouth widened, his perfect teeth being showed off in his opened mouth. “Will you--”

Pidge pulled him down by his blue t-shirt sleeve, getting a grunt out of him as he flopped back onto his seat. “You have to be more smooth about it, lover boy. You of the two of us should know that best.”

Lance huffed with a pout. “But he’s hot, seen Voltron, and his name is Keith, Pidge! Why not take the opportunity in our hands right here, right now?”

Pidge rolled her eyes. “Protocol, Lance. We need to get to know him before letting him into the group.”

Lance narrowed his eyes. “There’s only three of us, Pidge. Tsuyu’s only willing to go by Hunk because of your insisting, Lesbean.”

Pidge groaned and flicked Lance’s arm, looking over at Keith who’d now turned his attention to Nyma’s third order of pancakes. “Stop calling me that, Losershooter, and Keith’s obviously more distant than Hunk. I mean, look at him.” She grabbed Lance’s chin and yanked it to stare at Keith as she was. Keith’s face was deadpan, just like everything about him -- aside from his natural beauty.

“Don’t call me Losershooter! I only lost to you in HORSE that one time! The ball was flat!” Lance whined as his cheeks were being tugged on with his chin being moved.

“Sure sure, it was only the first time we ever played HORSE so of course that didn’t mean you were at all likely to get a single shot,” Pidge hummed sarcastically to tease Lance.

He huffed for what seemed like the hundredth time that morning, gawking as Keith span around, making more coffee and passing plates to Nyma and the few other mechanics around the area that were beginning to join her at the bar. “Yeah, whatever, Lesbean. We need him, Pidge. He’s so… jaw-dropping.”

Pidge dropped her hand from Lance’s face with a roll of her eyes and another groan. “Just because he’s spiking your gayness doesn’t mean we should let him into the group so soon.” She then grinned proudly and mischievously. “Besides, I’m sure we’re getting a certain princess into our group soon.”

Lance slammed his hands on the table. “No way! You’re going to try to get crazy cat lady to watch Voltron?”

“Heck yeah. I’m tutoring her after all. And she said she wants me to show her Voltron, so why not invite her to the diner sometime?” Pidge smiled.

Lance squealed, wrapping his arms around Pidge and nearly suffocating her by crushing her lungs. “I’m so proud! My little Lesbean is growing up and getting herself a girl!”

Pidge coughed while struggling to get out of his grasp, rasping, “I’m not getting myself a girl, I’m getting us another fandom citizen!”

Lance paused. “Wait, did you say ‘heck yeah’?”

Pidge gave him a weird look and nodded. “Yeah. What about it?”

Lance sucked in a breath. “Slightly less proud, but,” he squeezed her again before returning to squealing, “I’m so proud of my little Lesbean!”

“Are you two done bringing hell to this diner?” a slightly familiar voice suddenly chastised before Pidge could go off on Lance again.

Pidge and Lance both looked up to find Keith glaring down at them, a bill in his hand. Lance let go of Pidge and put a fist to his mouth and rested his other arm on the table as he cleared his throat. “Um, yes, that’ll be all for today.”

“Good. Cash?” Keith was a cut-to-the-chase guy.

Pidge was starting to contemplate exactly how easy it would be to draw Keith into their schemes.

Lance nodded, looking away with tainted cheeks and a guilty look. “Yeah.”

Keith set down the bill and walked away, slipping Lance’s forgotten plate onto his arm before disappearing.

“Harsh one he is,” Pidge commented with a blank expression. She wasn’t sure how to feel about him.

Lance simply said nothing as he dug out his wallet from his jeans’ pocket and found what he needed.

Pidge jumped off her stool and stretched her arms. “Well, I’m gonna head out to do the make-up work for the classes I missed yesterday.”

She didn’t get a response from Lance since he was busy counting his ones and calculating tax. She walked out with a grin, happy Lance wasn’t depressed about being rejected as he was like he usually would be. The little bell attached to the door jingled as Pidge opened it, though it was drowned out by an outburst from Lance.

“His number!”

Pidge left the diner laughing. Maybe Keith was softer than he gave on.

 


	4. "Her smile's a crime."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> handwriting key  
> hunk: italics and bold  
> pidge: underline and bold  
> lance: just bold
> 
>  
> 
> edit 6/6/18:  
> the song for this chapter is "Friends" by Hedley again

There had been one thing Pidge hadn’t thought through when giving Allura her orientation; they hadn’t exchanged numbers, meaning there wasn’t a way to contact her and set up tutoring times over the weekend. That meant Pidge had to talk to her about it in person, which would be way worse than not in her opinion.

At least she had three periods before she had to see Allura.

As usual, history class was a bore, Pidge using her time to doodle instead of listening to stories she already knew. She wasn’t in the mood to listen for the teacher’s mistakes. Of course, halfway through the period, her ‘notes’ sheet was snatched from under her hand, quickly scribbled on before she could even sigh, and then slipped back to her.

**_Are you okay_ **

She rolled her eyes before writing her response, slipping it back to Hunk.

** Yeah, I’m not looking forward to seeing Allura later, that’s it **

It only took Hunk a few seconds to reply.

**_Allura is the British transfer girl you have a crush on right?_ **

Pidge punched Lance’s arm, taking back the paper while Lance gasped at her and angrily scribbled down something, shoving the paper back to Hunk.

** Lance is wrong, I don’t have a crush on her. She’s just pretty. **

She huffed while Lance kept poking her shoulder, whisper-rambling at her about why the fuck she’d punched him and how she shouldn’t just do that, though it only took her a second to snatch the paper back from Hunk before he could write anything since she wanted to add something.

**She’s weird. Like, really weird. Like, wears cat dresses and dies her hair silver weird.**

Pidge slapped the paper down in front of Hunk with a stern stare while Lance groaned, giving up since it was obvious she was going to keep ignoring him. She couldn’t help but grin as the teacher called, “What’s going on back there?”

“Nothing,” they all replied in unison, Hunk saying it guiltily, Lance muttering it angrily, and Pidge simply stating it.

The teacher sighed. “Please pay attention.”

“Yes, Mr. Shirogane,” they all replied in unison again.

They, of course, didn’t actually pay attention.

_**That’s not too weird. She sounds nice at least. People who like cats are always nice** _

**Hunk, are you forgetting about Mrs. Haggar? She has a cat.**

_**I take it back, I was wrong, not all people who like cats are nice. Most of them. Most of them are.** _

**I guess Allura’s nice… She’s so annoying though. She dresses nicely, has nice hair, has nice skin, has nice eyes, has nice manners, is very nice… She’s too nice, too girly. I don’t know much about her yet but seriously, there’s no way I’d feel anything more than admiration for her.**

**Lies.**

**Don’t steal my goddamn paper Losershooter, Hunk and I were conversing**

_**Ease up Pidge, he can be a part of the conversation** _

_**And I agree with him** _

**Ha, suck that, lesbean**

**I’m not lying god dammit and Lance, you’re the one who sucks, not me**

**Little Lesbean should be changed to Little Bitch**

_**Was that a sexual joke** _

**Sorry, Matt’s already using that for my contact**

**Why does your brother always have to take my ideas before I even have them**

**Because you’re an idiot**

_**Can we go one day without you two arguing** _

**Probably not unless we tape the loser’s mouth shut**

**Bitch that’s not happening**

“Okay, you three,” the teacher’s voice suddenly cut in, taking the paper for himself. He scanned over the paper, his face losing his typical enthusiasm with every second he read it. He sighed and handed it back. “If I find you guys sharing a paper again this week, I’ll take away your productivity points for the week. Please actually take notes.”

Pidge took the paper and stuffed it in her bag. It was nice to keep all their note sheets and pin them to the board above the desk in her bedroom. Good thing to look at when pretending to either do homework or studying were getting too boring.

“Now, as I was saying…”

Pidge thanked any gods out there when the bell rang five minutes later.

“We are  _ never  _ taping my mouth shut!” Lance practically screeched as soon as the bell rang.

“Don’t worry, loser, it wouldn’t be a problem until we had to take the tape off,” Pidge malevolently reassured with an evil smile before packing up her stuff.

“You little—”

“Guys! Guess what!” Hunk interrupted, getting out of his seat.

“What?” both of them groaned, Pidge groaning because her fun was interrupted and Lance groaning because he was probably contemplating punching Pidge.

“We’re getting a new student in tech today, remember?” Hunk beamed down at them.

Pidge’s heart dropped in the middle of getting up. She’d forgotten to mention that.

Lance lit up instantaneously, standing up. “Oh yeah! Wow, multiple students transferred last week?”

“Nope. Just the one,” Pidge grumbled as she slouched under her backpack, wishing time would freeze so she didn’t have to ever go to second period.

Lance and Hunk both gasped behind her.

“No way!” Lance squealed.

“Allura’s going to be in our class?” Hunk questioned excitedly.

Pidge grunted and rolled her eyes, walking towards the doorway.

“Oh, Pidge!”

Surprisingly, the teacher was who called, coming towards her from the front of the room with a stack of papers.

“Can you run these to the main office? Tell them it’s from me and that I told them to give you a pass to your next class.” He gave the brightest smile Pidge had seen a teacher ever give.

Pidge didn’t even get a chance to respond; the teacher simply gave her the stack, patted it twice and turned, walking away. Pidge hated teachers sometimes. Though, she didn’t this time since it dawned on her that she was being given an excuse to have more time to prepare herself for dealing with the insane cat lady from Great Britain.

She sighed to herself and walked out of the classroom, telling the boys to go ahead without her. She reassured herself over and over again on the walk to the main office that talking to Allura wouldn’t be too bad. The worse that could happen would be Allura actually went insane and randomly pulled a knife out of nowhere and stabbed Pidge.

Or Pidge began stuttering because she doesn’t know how to be nice to admirable girls.   
It was no wonder she’d scared off all her crushes before. Not that there had been many.

Pidge nudged the door to the main office open, thankful the doors were push doors.

She was not, however, thankful with the back and voice she was met by.

“Pidge? What a pleasant surprise!”

Pidge looked up to meet the unnaturally bright blue eyes she really didn’t want to meet right then and cursed her history teacher.

That was just her luck, huh?

“Is it really against school rules to wear open-backed shirts? Is it not outrageous that I’ve been here for half an hour simply because I won't put my hair down and my fathers are working and are unable to bring me another shirt when what I’m wearing isn’t inappropriate?” Allura ranted with a sour expression, keeping her back turned to Pidge so that she could see Allura’s back. Allura was wearing a pink shirt that the back was cut out of in the shape of a heart, with parts of the fabric tied across the cut-out space, while her hair up. She was also wearing high-waisted jean shorts with ripped rims over light brown spandex poking out of the bottom since if it were the shorts alone, they’d be the school’s issue with her outfit.

Damn, how had Pidge missed Allura’s sweet ass the first day? Despite that being all she could think, she nodded in response to the questions Allura had ranted that Pidge honestly hadn’t paid much attention to.

Allura sighed, turning around much to Pidge’s dislike. “I find it hard to believe this shirt is very bad. I’ve never worn anything but uniforms before now; is this really that bad?”

Pidge shook her head, both to snap herself out of her gay trance and to answer Allura’s question. “I’ve seen worse here. Depends which teacher reported you…”

“My english teacher,” Allura grumbled through clenched teeth with the closest thing to a hateful face Pidge had seen her with in the two hours total they’d ever talked.

“... Mr. Sendak?” Pidge questioned.

Allura nodded her head with a groan. “Yes, him. Having him first thing in the morning is not pleasant. He’s a jerk.”

“I think the world you’re looking for is bastard.” Pidge grinned as she walked around Allura and to the secretary’s desk. The secretary wasn’t there even, and Pidge wasn’t going to wait around. She and Allura had a class to get to.

Talking to Allura again had been way easier than Pidge was anticipating.

“He does own four cats though, and I respect that,” Allura then added in a sigh.

And all the hope Pidge had in her heart for Allura not being an insane cat lady died.

“Can someone shoot me? Please?” Pidge pleadingly asked with a blank expression as she placed the papers down, not even looking as she dropped them.

“Pidge? Is everything alright? Why are you asking to be shot?” Allura questioned, genuinely concerned.

This was sweet; Allura was worried for Pidge. That didn’t stop Pidge from being the little bitch she was, walking past her again while stating, “Because you’re an insane cat lady I have to deal with constantly from now on.”

Allura ran up to her quickly after picking up her black backpack from a nearby chair, glaring down at her with one cheek puffed out. “That was mean, short one.”

Pidge stopped herself in the doorway, mid-opening the door. The light had faded from her eyes, and she may or may not have been ready to murder someone. “Call me that again and I promise you, you will regret your life choices.”

Allura rolled her eyes, walking past Pidge and into the hallway. “It’s fair. You’re not the nicest to me… Now come along, we have a class to get to.”

There was an awkward silence between them as they made their way as fast as possible down to the computer lab.

A huff was let out. “Your outfit is cute as well today. What does G.A.S.A. stand for?”

Pidge stared down at herself, taking in the bland blue and white jacket she was wearing over a black shirt with an oval and the acronym _G.A.S.A._ written in red with normal jeans and seafoam green sneakers. Something in her heart seemed to ting, though she brushed it aside. “Garrison Astronautics and Space Association.”

“Ooh! That’s interesting! I didn’t know Garrison had its own space association,” Allura chimed as they approached the lab door.

“Pidge?” Mr. Ulaz’s voice called, audible through the door.

Pidge burst in, practically yelling, “Here!”

Allura giggled behind Pidge, patting the upper part of Pidge’s back and getting her to look up at her. “Just in time.” She smiled down at Pidge and winked before walking in and taking the closest empty seat at a computer.

Pidge numbly walked to her normal seat in the back, in between Hunk and Lance, mumbling.

“Her smile’s a crime.”

 


	5. "Your Gayness?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this update took so long !! things got super busy  
> but here's another gayass chapter for y'all
> 
> note 6/6/18: "A Twist In My Story" by Seconhand Serenade

“I agree,” Lance sighed, googly-eyed over Allura. She was asked to stand in front of the class and introduce herself, after all. Pidge didn’t like how much Lance was marveling her.

“Oh, come on, like she’s in your league,” Pidge muttered to him, seemingly as a joke since that was the majority of their conversations.

“She’s beautiful, I have to admit,” Hunk added in a whisper, leaning back in his chair and grinning while listening to Allura ask the class to be patient with her since she’d missed three months of the school year.

“She’s gorgeous,” Lance corrected Hunk.

Pidge sat in between them spouting different descriptors for Allura’s angelic appearance, slowly getting angrier and angrier. Why it was aggravating, she wasn’t sure. It was probably because all she’d ever been called was cute -- and that was just because she was short.

Why couldn’t she have been blessed to look like Allura?

“She’s marvelous,” Hunk one-upped Lance.

“Jaw-dropping,” Lance fought in return.

“She could be a runway model,” Hunk said with a nod.

“She’s probably Aphrodite’s long lost daughter,” Lance decided.

Pidge groaned, at her wit’s end. “We get it, she’s pretty, now would you two shut up?”

Lance smiled malevolently. “Protective much?”

“More like annoyed,” Pidge growled, sinking in her seat.

“Don’t worry.” Hunk patted her shoulder with an encouraging smile. “You’ll get her one day.”

“I’m not after her!” Pidge whisper-yelled. It sounded more like hissing.

“You go from being a little lesbean to a pigeon to a snake. Make up your mind already,” Lance said with a roll of his eyes.

Pidge groaned and sank further in her seat, her nose barely above the desktop. She could only see the bottom of her computer screen this way.

“So, did you get her phone number?” Hunk asked.

Pidge looked up at Hunk and shook her head. “I was too wrapped up in bumping into her at the principal’s office.”

“Is _that_ why you came in together?!” Lance joined the whisper-conversation.

Pidge looked over to Lance and nodded. “She got dress-coded but can’t change and I was dropping off the papers.”

“You need to get her phone number before fourth period then!” Hunk seemed genuinely worried for Pidge’s sake, being the sweetheart he was.

Pidge looked forward at the computer again and placed her chin down on the desktop, her nose touching the keyboard. She groaned and mumbled, “I know. But I’ve never asked for someone’s number before…” She turned her head slightly to glance up at Lance. “How do you do it without being awkward?”

“In your case, it’s easy,” Lance scoffed, putting his arms behind his head while stretching.

“You’re not asking her out, Pidge. You’re asking for her number because you have to tutor her. There’s nothing awkward about it,” Hunk jumped in, being supportive before Lance went off on a rant and ended up annoying Pidge instead -- as both he and Pidge knew Lance would have since he scoffed.

Pidge sighed and groaned at the same time, somehow, looking at her nose. “It’s still going to be hard… She’s so perfect! She’s probably already had so many people ask her for her phone number.”

Lance and Hunk exchanged worried glances while Pidge groaned again.

Lance playfully punched her arm. “Don’t think like that. You’re a short nerd, who could beat your cuteness?”

Hunk nodded and added, “Or resist it?”

Pidge rolled her eyes and straightened herself, leaning against the back of her chair. “Those specifics are not specified.”

The boys took the hint and left her to mope. It helped her contemplate how to go about asking Allura for her number.

Of course, everything she thought of she immediately trashed and before she knew it she was banging her head on the table.

Then the bell rang. She kept her forehead resting on the table and let out a groan.

“You’re gonna miss your chance, Your Gayness,” Lance commented as he gathered his things and stood up.

“What’s the point?” Pidge droned in a mutter, completely out of ideas. Nerves were bubbling under her skin.

“Um, you’re supposed to be her tutor?” Lance put forth sassily, throwing his arms out to his sides dramatically.

Pidge simply groaned in response.  
“Aaaand there she goes,” Hunk suddenly spoke up.

“Shit,” Pidge whispered, grabbing her bag from under the table and squeezing past Hunk and a few other students to the door.

Lucky for her, the silver hair and height made Allura easy to find in the hallway. She zoomed towards her, like a cat running through a bunch of trees -- an analogy that makes sense because of her short height and how easily she could slip through the crowd of students. Then, of course, an unexpected tree appeared and Pidge was brought to a halt, slamming into someone’s back.

“Oi, please watch where you’re—Pidge?”

Pidge took a step back, rubbing her crushed nose and staring up to find that she’d bumped into the tree she was looking for.

“What were you running for? Are you alright?” Allura questioned with a genuinely worried expression.

It was precious.

Pidge pushed her glasses up on her nose with a nod. “Yeah, I was trying to catch you, actually,” she answered breathily, still recovering from the collision.

Allura’s eyes widened. “Trying to catch me? What for?”

Pidge hesitated, her nerves telling her not to, but she reached into her back jean pockets and whipped out her phone. She cleared her throat nervously, unable to keep eye contact with Allura and constantly needing to look down instead of into the skies in Allura’s eyes. “I, uh, well, if I’m going to be your tutor, I need to know when you’re free, so… do you think I could get your phone number?”

She shut her eyes tightly, cursing herself for her wavering, quiet voice as her heart pounded against her rib cage.

Allura giggled and Pidge’s phone slipped from her hands. Pidge shook her head in surprise as her eyes popped open and she looked up to find Allura twiddling her fingers against Pidge’s screen. Pidge knitted her eyebrows. “How’d you get into my phone?”

“It was easy. If you keep 420666 as your password, anyone that knows memes will be able to figure out what it is. You might want to change it.” Allura grinned and held out Pidge’s phone to her.

Pidge couldn’t help but blush, embarrassed her password was easy. She took her phone and looked up at Allura while putting it back in her pocket. Allura’s eyes really were like mini skies trapped in a white oblivion.

There was a moment of staring between the two girls before Pidge came back to reality. She looked down and sucked in a breath. “Well, uh, I’ll text you at lunch, now we have classes and… yeah. Uh, see ya?”

Pidge internally drop-kicked herself for being so nervous still. Why was she so nervous anyway? It wasn’t like being in the presence of a literal goddess meant she wasn’t worthy of existing. Though she sure felt like that was the case.

“Right,” Allura agreed. She smiled. “See you later!” She gave a small wave and turned, disappearing down the hallway with the flow of students.

Pidge felt frozen in the flowing crowd. Everything seemed to turn gray. Her nerves were now boiling, all of her skin burning, as she watched the only colored figure walk away with her pink, open-back shirt and her silver bun. A million thoughts ran through Pidge’s head, though one stood out. Pidge sighed to herself.

“Why is she so captivating?”

“Hello? Your Gayness?”

Pidge yelled out of surprise, suddenly stepping so she could look behind herself to find Lance staring at her. He looked at her with a weird look. “What are you doing standing in the hallway?”

Pidge eased up, her nerves fading in the presence of one of her two best friends. “I got lost in thought.”

“Did you get her number?” Lance asked, his weird look turning into a familiar grin.

Pidge nodded. “Yeah.”

“Come on, let’s get to chem lab. We’re already going to be late.” Lance grabbed her hand and tugged her along as they made their way to the chemistry lab.

Pidge simply walked along with him. It was typical for them to hold hands -- or rather, for Lance to drag her by holding her hand. They arrived at the right door and opened it.

“Pidge! Lance! You two have a new lab partner,” the teacher called as they entered.

Pidge looked over at her table to find two girls talking; one was blue-haired, a girl who’d been chem partners with Lance and Pidge since the beginning of the year. The other one was silver-haired.

Apparently Pidge’s nerves weren’t getting a break that day.


	6. "No shit, Holt."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaand six months later, we're back!!
> 
> for those of you who read this bEFORE now (january 2018), i'd like to mention that yes, the artist has changed, don't be alarmed the next time i add art (or if you go back to read)
> 
> i'd like to mention that holy fuck, so i hadn't planned any of this story out before i started writing it last june and so i did in the end of the summer before shit happened and i was stopped from writing for five months but there wILL be mentions of suicidal thoughts/attempts, i warn y'all now
> 
> hope that's still okay with everyone...? it's still a p damn fluffy story but yeah they're teens, so there's going to be drama and stupid choices
> 
> thought i should warn
> 
> on that note have this very idiotic very comedic chapter that's been long awaited
> 
> note 6/6/18: song is "Friends" by Hedley again

Pidge slammed her hands down on the table, being _so done_ with all the nerves and the presence of the person awakening and stirring the nerves. She stared down at the black tabletop, fires burning in her eyes. “I thought you had chem after lunch.”

“Oh! I didn’t realize this was your class, Pidge! How nice! I forgot to tell you earlier. They made a mistake and had to change my schedule around a bit, so now I have chemistry this period!” Allura beamed.

There was a pause as Lance got comfortable and started up a conversation with their blue-haired classmate. Allura continued staring at Pidge assumably, though of course, Pidge couldn’t see her. All she could see were her own hands and the black tabletop.

“Are you okay?” Allura asked a moment later.

Pidge slumped down in her seat with a groan, dropping her bag to the floor as well as her jacket. “Yeah. Perfect. Absolutely perfect.”

“Did something happen in the past few minutes?” Allura continued questioning.

In that moment, Pidge really didn't want to be questioned. She simply groaned, shaking her head, and kept her eyes off of Allura, mainly to the side towards the teacher. Pidge angrily ranted internally about how bad her luck was before her thoughts were interrupted.

“Oh! Right! I nearly forgot! I picked up goggles and aprons for everyone. Pidge, don’t forget to pin your bangs back! Do you need to borrow a pin?”

For a moment, Pidge had completely forgotten her other lab mate existed. She was smiling at Pidge, holding out a pair of goggles and a silver barrette placed on top of a neatly folded apron, which the girl had organized herself. She did it for Pidge and Lance every lab; and now, for Allura too. Pidge took the pile with averted eyes, then blushing and nodding. She never remembered a hair pin or barrette of any sort, so the neon blue-haired, olive-skinned classmate always lended her one.

“One person from each table, come collect your chemicals! Today’s lesson is self explanatory, but I’ll be wandering around to answer questions.”

Lance stood up, though the blue-haired girl stood up and walked past, quickly patting Lance’s back with a small giggle. “I got it.”

Lance simply looked over at Pidge and they both shrugged, Lance sitting back down. That was the typical lab routine for the three of them. Pidge put her apron on and pulled her bangs straight back, keeping them out of her face. She then placed the bulky school goggles over her glasses and glanced over at Allura. Allura looked ridiculous in the goggles and fire-proof apron since they completely differed from her natural appearance. Pidge couldn’t help but find it funny -- though honestly, who didn’t look weird in the goggles and apron?

Allura suddenly looked over, Pidge getting caught staring. She attempted to play it cool and tilted her neck, then looking the other way and tilting her neck. Though, she wasn’t sure it’d pay off since her cheeks had to be bright red seeing as they felt like they were nearly actually going to catch fire.

“Isn’t she cute?” Allura marveled in a sideways whisper to Pidge.

Pidge’s heart sank, following Allura’s eyes and finding neon blue hair in the line of sight. “Plaxum? Uh… Yeah, I guess so. Not my type…” Pidge’s voice trailed off and she shut her mouth, swallowing.

Allura suddenly stiffened, shooting wide eyes at Pidge. Pidge glanced over with a raised eyebrow.

“You’re… into girls?”

Pidge’s face flushed red and Lance, who of course had been eavesdropping, burst out laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Allura asked with narrowed eyes in Lance’s direction.

Lance gripped his stomach with one arm and waved the other passively at Allura. “It’s nothing, it’s nothing. An inside joke.”

Pidge threw her pencil at Lance, getting a small _ow_ out of him when it hit the bridge of his nose.

“Weakling,” Pidge hissed.

Allura giggled, putting her hand over her mouth. Pidge looked at her again, finding her sharp features seeming delicate with her relaxed gesture. Although Allura had laughed in Pidge’s presence before, there was just something different about this point.

Of course it bothered Pidge every time her brain was left to think, though that wasn’t often since Plaxum returned, her green-blue eyes sparkling as she set the tray she’d received down on the table.

“I wonder what we’re cooking today.” Lance’s eyes sparkled in a different sense. A mischievous sense.

“It’s got to be something good with what we’ve been given,” Plaxum put in, taking the various filled beakers off the tray. “Allura, can you read off the instructions?”

Allura’s attention immediately turned to Plaxum and she did as Plaxum said, but something was off about how Allura was. She was stumbling over words, blushing, and laughing a lot more than she usually did as her interactions with Plaxum went on.

Pidge was starting to hate those blue low-ponytails.

“Psst,” Lance tapped Pidge’s shoulder and shook her out of her thoughts, “Earth to The Gay Girl.”

Pidge rolled her eyes, putting her face in her hand while practically pouting. “Not now, Lance.”

“What do you think would happen if we mixed the pink and green ones? It’s not a combination in any of the experiments,” Lance whispered.

All sad, gay thoughts got wiped from Pidge’s brain as her lips peeled into a crescent moon and her eyes narrowed. “Are you proposing a new experiment?”

“No shit, Holt,” Lance twisted the common saying to personalize it.

“Elementary, my dear McClain,” Pidge answered in kind, in a normal voice volume. She took the beakers filled with pink and green liquids while Allura and Plaxum were too busy figuring out something between the purple and blue ones. She held up the pink. “You see, if we add this specific substance to this one,” she gently shook the green one in demonstration before beginning to tilt the pink one, “you end up with--”

 

Apparently it wasn’t okay to cause combustion and a dust dispersion in the school chem lab.

Their entire table ended up in the principal’s office, specifically Lance and Pidge’s faces covered in brown dust they were being told specifically how to wipe off. Allura and Plaxum had only gotten it on their hands and lab papers, while they had also acquired frowns and glares while both Pidge and Lance were beaming.

“I didn’t want to end up in here again,” Allura huffed, complaining mainly to Plaxum as she sulked.

Pidge’s beam suddenly turned into an angry fire.

Lance put a hand on Pidge’s shoulder and leaned by her ear, whispering, “Next time, we should make sure to wear hoods and pull them over our faces before it goes off.”

Pidge snorted. “I wouldn't be able to see what I’m doing if we did that.”

Lance shrugged as both of them laughed lightly.

“Lance, Katie, please wash your faces off in the nurse’s office. Dr. Zarkon will see you afterwards,” Mrs. Hagar instructed, standing in front of the four of them with crossed arms and a glare. “Allura, Plaxum, go to the nurse as well and get cleaned off before class.”

Pidge sighed and stood up, as everyone did. “So much for a fun period in the waiting room,” she murmured to Lance as they exited the main office and made their way next door to the nurse’s.

Lance lightly nudged her arm with his elbow, causing her to look up at him to find him grinning down at her. “Hey, isn’t our typical in-trouble routine better than going back to class watching those two be annoyingly into each other?”

Pidge’s heart sunk, but she didn’t have anything to argue against Lance’s point. She didn’t know what to say, and thankfully, she was saved by the nurse.

The nurse’s door opened, a woman stepping out and spotting them with wide eyes and a small head shake. “My word, what have you two done this time?! I wasn't told your faces were covered! I was only warned of hands! Come on, in in!” Even while exasperated and hurried, the nurse’s voice was smooth and welcoming.

“Who is she?” Allura whispered as they all headed towards the door.

“That’s Mrs. Balmera. She’s the school nurse,” Pidge said over her shoulder, jumping in to explain before Plaxum could.

Allura smiled down at Pidge. “Ah, thank you!”

“Here are some sanitizing wipes for your hands, girls. Please be safe in class.” Mrs. Balmera calmly and gently grinned at Plaxum and Allura, handing them the small, packaged hand wipes. Once they walked out, Mrs. Balmera’s expression completely flipped, with fires in her eyes and the nastiest snarl possible. Mrs. Balmera was genuinely terrifying, being tall and buff -- in the standards for men. “You two, on the other hand, I’ll have to go find face-friendly soap and face towels. For the millionth time, I’d appreciate if you two would _stop showing up here_.”

Both Pidge and Lance gulped, nervously exclaiming in unison, “We’re sorry, Mrs. Balmera!”

All of them ended up laughing anyway. They’d done this what felt like a million times, afterall.

“I’ll go grab the towels.” Mrs. Balmera walked off, her calm grin back on her face.

Pidge’s heart went back to its sunken place in her chest, her thoughts unable to steer away from Allura’s clear interest in Plaxum. Lance must’ve noticed her sour expression, because a second later, she had a long hand slapped harshly against her small back.

“You remember how I was sooo into that one girl with the neon orange hair in middle school?” Lance brought up as though he could read Pidge’s mind.

Pidge snorted. “You hadn’t talked to her once.”

“Exactly.”

A grin warmed up on Pidge’s face. She leaned on Lance as they waited for Mrs. Balmera to get back so they could clean up and go off to hearing a lecture they’d heard a ton already.

“Thanks, Lance.”

 


	7. "You're just an asshole."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here we go with another update!! hoping to keep the updates no later than two weeks apart now that i'm starting to regain my life. so here's this week's!  
> lowkey lance is me  
> hope this chapter is funny and isn't just stupid lmao
> 
> note 6/6/18: song for this one is "Hills To Climb" by Tim Meyers

“I thought our conversation from earlier over a couple of times and for the record, I don’t like her.” Pidge glared at Lance from across the table, sandwich in hand. She took a bite after talking.

Lance smirked in response. “I think you do.”

Pidge groaned and rolled her eyes, swallowing before answering. She shrugged. “She’s attractive, but I don’t _know_ her. I don’t want to get with her.”

“I assume we’re talking about Allura, here?” Hunk questioned, lost.

“Yeah,” both Pidge and Lance answered.

“I have to agree with Pidge -- you shouldn’t date someone unless you know them well enough to lean on them like a best friend,” Hunk put in.

Pidge huffed in a proud manner, holding her chin high with a smirk directed at Lance. She valiantly took a bite of her sandwich, continuing to smirk at Lance. Lance rolled his eyes, huffing in a dissatisfied manner and putting his chin on the backs of his hands. His elbows were already on the table anyway, so it was convenient.

Someone came over and hit Lance on the head with a book, getting an ‘ow’ out of Lance as he turned around.

“What were you two thinking, blowing up the lab? We have to make that lab up somehow now,” Plaxum scolded Lance while he glared up at her, rubbing his head.

Pidge’s pride faded into guilt. “Sorry,” she muttered, doubting Plaxum would hear her.

“Yeah, sorry.” Lance couldn’t hide the sarcasm in his voice.

“So where do you usually sit?” Allura came up to the table, her question directed at Plaxum. She looked over and noticed Pidge, a smile cracking and giving a small wave. “Oh, hi again, Pidge.”

Pidge gave a small grin and a small wave in return, but wasn’t given the time to respond.

“My table’s in the back -- see you guys later!” Plaxum waved at the three of them and walked away, Allura following and talking to her.

Pidge’s pride sank even deeper, turning into anger. Instead of glaring at Lance or Hunk and giving the wrong message, she glared at her sandwich instead. Her heart felt like it could implode due to the empty, angry feeling she had pumping through her veins.

“Pidge-” Hunk started.

“There you are, Lance. You and I need to talk,” another voice cut in.

Pidge looked up to find an olive-skinned, blonde-haired teacher peering over Lance.

That day, she had two screwdrivers put through one massive bun.

Lance cleared his throat and stood up with a quiet, “Yes, Ms. Nyma.”

“Sometimes I forget she’s both a mechanic and a teacher,” Hunk whispered to Pidge as Lance walked away with Ms. Nyma talking at him.

“It’s hard to remember since we don’t have her, and she goes by her last name as a mechanic, too,” Pidge added as they both eyed Lance and Ms. Nyma discussing something that seemed serious.

“Thank god she’s a Spanish teacher,” Pidge whispered with narrow eyes. “I don’t want to have to deal with her.”

“Poor Lance,” Hunk sighed.

Pidge and Hunk both had their eyes glued to Lance as he talked, though Hunk started a new conversation as they continued to survey Lance’s situation.

“So, what’s the deal with Allura precisely?”

“She’s attractive, and perfect… too perfect. There’s no way I’m her type.” Pidge sighed, all of her joy sinking to the floor for the hundredth time that day.

Hunk huffed. “I can feel you there. I’m pretty sure the person I have eyes on isn’t dating anyone.”

Pidge decided to play a mean joke. “… Lance? Hunk, you never told me you were gay for good ol’ Lance.”

“No, not Lance!” Hunk exclaimed angrily at her, taking his eyes off of Pidge to pout at her with a glare full of daggers.

Pidge shrugged in response, quickly returning her gaze to focusing on Lance. “You said who you had your eyes on.”

“Not physically, and you know it.” Hunk returned to watching Lance, too.

“Yeah, everyone knows you’re into Shay. You’re always red and googly-eyed around her.” Pidge shuddered with a scrunched face.

“It’s not like you don’t get red and stutter around Allura,” Hunk defended.

“Sure, but I don’t have it nearly as bad as you,” Pidge shot back.

Hunk inhaled loudly but he quickly shut his mouth as they both watched intently. Lance walked back over and slumped down into his seat, proceeding gracefully in the movement to plant his face in the table.

“I’m failing Spanish because I didn’t hand in the homework,” Lance groaned, muffled by the table.

“Just do the homework,” Pidge blankly said, getting an elbow in her side for that.

“Haven’t you aced all of the quizzes?” Hunk questioned gently.

Lance turned his head so his cheek was against the table. He had a huge pout on his smushed face. “Yeah.”

“Then you’ll be fine. The homework will be a breeze to get done before the grade books for quarter 1 close,” Hunk tried to encourage.

Lance simply huffed, keeping his head on the table.

“Stop being an idiot and do the homework. You already know all you need to,” Pidge monotonically scolded. It wasn’t a motherly scold, rather a friendly telling-the-other-they’re-being-idiotic scold.

Lance sighed, sitting up straight. “You guys are right. I’ll do it all after school, I guess. Join me in the library for it?” Lance offered, a small grin appearing.

Pidge and Hunk both grinned, Pidge with a small grin and responding with a nice, “Sure,” and Hunk simply humming and nodding with his glowing grin.

“Maybe you should ask Shay and Allura to join.”

Lance had a smirk on that looked like he thought he owned the world.

Hunk got all red and giggly, causing Pidge to roll her eyes at both guys. Though, of course, she made sure to give Lance the right treatment.

“Hm, how to punish you for that…” Pidge tapped a finger on the table, resting her chin in her hand with her elbow on the table.

“Oh, sorry, did I displease you, Your Gayness?” Lance played along, his smirk turning into a more playful, joyful one rather than the teasing, condescending one he’d displayed before.

“Yes. I’m afraid I’ve got to punish you for how you’ve insulted me.” Pidge smiled wickedly. “A lunchbox to the head should do.”

Lance threw his arms up as his smirk turned upside down and he exclaimed, “What is it with people and hitting me on the head with objects today?”

Pidge shrugged, pulling her free hand over to hold the inside of her bent elbow. “You’re just an asshole. Simple, justifying reason, really.”

Hunk chuckled at the two of them while Lance stared her down. Though, a moment later, it was as though you could see the light bulb above his head because he lit up with an evil grin.

“How about you go hit Allura with something else? Maybe she’s into that sort of thing.” He raised his eyebrows to get what he was indicating across.

Pidge left lunch with the satisfying feeling that comes after hitting an asshole with a lunchbox.


	8. “Simmer down, cherry bomb.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the wait!! i got busy with midterms and the start of the new semester agh  
> here’s chapter 8!!
> 
> note 6/6/18: "Hills To Climb" by Tim Meyers again

“No, Lance, the zeroes can’t be 8 and 2. Its ending number isn’t 16,” Pidge shot down, bored and slightly annoyed.

“But the zeroes also can’t be 8 and 4. Maybe 8 isn’t one of the zeroes…” Hunk pointed out.

Lance simply put his head down on the round library table, covered in textbooks and sprawled papers and folders. He and Hunk were sitting next to each other, though Pidge was sitting across the table with two empty chairs on either side. It was a regular homework meetup for the three of them. “Can we move on to Spanish yet? Math is even more boring than a language I already know.”

Both Hunk and Pidge sighed, shifting their work around. Pidge simply put her completed -- and checked -- math homework away, then slumping in her chair and staring at the table.

Without homework, her mind wandered to the silvery hair, tall height, dark skin, gorgeous eyes; her mind wandered to Allura. With the thought of Allura came the thought of how Allura and Plaxum interacted. That only made her grumpier, her eyes narrowing and her expression souring.

After a solid minute of Hunk and Lance discussing what phrase to use in school Spanish instead of Lance’s native Spanish, Hunk turned to Pidge as though she’d been listening, saying, “Right, Pidge?”

Pidge put her hands in her hair, squeezing her eyes shut as she groaned and sat up before yelling, “No, nothing’s right!”

Lance and Hunk both blinked at her as she opened her eyes and relaxed her tense face, simply glaring at them.

“Simmer down, cherry bomb,” Lance commented in his asshole-ish way of asking if she was okay.

“Nothing’s right? What's not right?” Hunk outright questioned.

Pidge simply groaned.

“Hey, I heard Pidge yelling… Is Lance not getting anything through his thick skull?”

Pidge sunk into her seat further than before as a particular blue-haired girl sat down.

A head lowered next to Pidge’s, speaking quietly to her as Lance got upset with Plaxum and Hunk tried to mediate. “Is everything alright?”

Pidge didn't want to hear that British accent right then, but she sighed and sat up a bit to be polite. “Yeah. I'm… tired. Yeah, tired.” Pidge turned to Allura with a forced grin.

Allura stood up straight in order to take the empty set on Pidge’s other side. She gave a sympathetic grin, then looking to Hunk and Lance. “What are you up to?”

Pidge spent the next two minutes trying to figure out what the sympathetic grin meant. She decided it was probably Allura being too nice and feeling bad for Pidge’s lack of sleep, or Allura knew something else was up. Pidge hoped to god Allura couldn't see right through her. Lance being able to was already enough. Despite Pidge’s own discomfort, she still noticed Allura’s blatant urge to say something. Allura was constantly fidgeting, sucking in breaths that never made it out of her mouth.

Pidge tilted her head slightly and glanced in Allura’s direction. “Is everything okay for you?”

Allura huffed but grinned. “No, thank you for your asking.” Her grin turned into an angry frown. “I don’t know a thing about American history.” She paused, clearing her throat before suddenly getting a spurt of energy and leaning in close to Pidge with a beaming smile and a sparkle in her eye. “I was informed that you would be willing to tutor me… Would you mind if I took up that offer?”

Everything in Pidge’s body stopped — her head, her heart, even her blinking for a few straight seconds. She’d completely forgotten about Mrs. Haggar saying that Allura needed tutoring.

Pidge struggled to find words, nervously laughing while rubbing the back of her head and constantly switching between looking at her feet and looking up at Allura. “O-oh, yeah, ha… I-I completely forgot about that… Um… Thursday’s?”

“Yes, Thursday’s sounds perfect!” Allura put her hands together with a gentler smile and gleamed. She got that sparkle in her eye again as her eager smile returned. “I’m in need of quite a bit of tutoring, so how about Monday’s and Wednesday’s as well, maybe Saturday’s?”

Pidge laughed nervously still, internally screeching at the idea of having to deal with Allura outside of school too. “Y-yeah, sure,” she answered without thinking.

And she instantly regretted it.

“Perfect! How about this Thursday at 7? My parents aren’t going to be able to drive me anywhere since they take dancing classes together on Thursdays — and I’m pretty sure that they’ve found a studio to attend in town already — but I’d be happy to come over if I could catch a ride from one of your parents!”

Allura’s peppy rambling passed straight through Pidge’s ears. Pidge was too overwhelmed and angry with herself for agreeing to all this, but something in her gut told her not to say no, so she just nodded in response.

“Alright! Thank you so much, Pidge, this will be a great help. Is this Thursday a date?”

“Date?!” Pidge exclaimed as her heart stopped, making the entire library go silent. Pidge had the librarian glaring her down from the checkout desk. She slammed her hands over her mouth, muttering ‘sorry’ into them. She looked at Allura.

Allura was blankly staring at her. “Yes, a date, as in a plan.”

Pidge’s heart eased. She took her hands away from her mouth and nodded.

Allura’s beaming smile lit up her whole face. “Wonderful!”

Allura’s gleam warmed Pidge’s heart.

“Hey, Allura, you free later? There’s a movie on tonight I thought you might like, and…”

Pidge’s heart instantaneously turned to cold stone. She tuned Plaxum out as she and Allura seemingly discussed a real date.

Hunk came around, taking one of Pidge’s arm and pulling her out of her chair as he announced, “We have something to discuss. We’ll be right back.”

Pidge didn’t have a choice but to silently follow as Hunk dragged her to some bookcases. He pretended to be searching for a book while she stood behind him with her arms crossed and a sour face.

Hunk sighed. “I know you’re going to deny it, and I know you’re going to be angry about it, but I think you should get a handle on that massive crush you have.”

Pidge sucked in an angry breath, about to scold Hunk for saying she had a crush even though she’d made it clear she didn’t — even if she knew she really did — but she wasn’t given the chance to open her mouth.

“You’re going to have to tutor her, and with how things are looking, Plaxum and Allura might end up… you know… I just don’t want you to get hurt, Pidge.”

Pidge let out her breath with a sigh, a small grin making tugging at the sides of her mouth. “Thanks, Hunk. Don’t exactly know how to ‘get a handle,’ but I’ll figure something out, I guess…”

Lance zoomed in between them, stopping to put an arm around both their necks. “What secrets are we discussing?”

“Lance, let go of me,” Pidge grunted with a frown, being held against Lance’s body. It wasn’t exactly comfortable.

“I’m looking out for Pidge is all,” Hunk ensured.

Lance released them, turning to Hunk while standing next to Pidge now. “About Allura and Plaxum?”

Hunk nodded while Pidge growled.

“Does everyone know?”

Hunk and Lance exchanged glances, then both stared Pidge down, plainly stating, “Pretty much.”

Pidge grumbled, crossing her arms and pouting as her cheeks warmed from embarrassment. “Stupid Allura with her looks and kindness and humor… Ugh.”

Lance and Hunk chuckled, Lance ruffling her hair.

“No worries,” Lance encouraged, crossing one arm over his chest and putting the other hand to his chin— which honestly reminded Pidge of the thinking emoji. “Allura and Plaxum won’t last long. I can _feel_ it.”

“You can feel what?” Pidge interrogated angrily.

“The bad mixture of personalities. They won’t work. Good friends, sure, but lovers? No way,” Lance elaborated proudly and surely, giving a small nod at the end.

Pidge knew Lance was doing what he could to cheer Pidge up. It warmed her heart; every muscle she’d been tensing unconsciously eased. She grinned at him with a small exhale, which was her show of thanks, before Lance slid over to Hunk with his hand still on his chin and with a sly smirk starting. “I can also feel the good mixture you and Shay would be.”

Hunk huffed, his face reddening but still blank as he crossed his arms. “It’s only a good mixture of she likes me.”

“And? I’m sure she does, man,” Lance encouraged, finally dropping his silly act and just trying to push Hunk into asking Shay out.

The two boys started blabbering, heading back to the table. Pidge simply followed but found Plaxum sitting in her chair, facing sideways and pressed against Allura as Plaxum explained something to her, assumably a piece of homework. The feeling of hope and warmth Lance and Hunk had given her slipped away, her insecurity kicking in.

What Lance said wasn’t necessarily true.

But Hunk was right. She needed to get herself under control.

Pidge sucked in a breath and marched over to go ask for her seat back and offer assistance, but even with the encouragement from Hunk and Lance and her confidence in being able to ignore her interest in Allura, she really wished she had been forced to write that damn apology letter again.


	9. "Crash course time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's that time of year when everyone's screaming into the oblivion  
> so sorry for the long wait!! got super sick and busy,, but here's chapter 9!! bit longer than a usual chapters  
> sooo in terms of language choice, especially for coran saying one measurement in particular, my family is part british and my cousin is ridiculous as a person (in a good way, he's fun to be around) so i kinda just decided that coran would use some of the silly words that my cousin does since in the show coran of course uses silly words that even allura thinks are silly, so yeah, i hope no one sees it as me being insensitive or poking fun because im really not!! just imitating my cousin lmao  
> i hope everyone enjoys the chapter and is having an okay life ♥
> 
> note 6/6/18: "Light The Sky" by Grace VanderWaal

The table was silent, everyone doing their own work. Pidge continuously tapped her pencil against her cheek, rereading the same calc problem over and over again while her mind wandered. Well, it wasn’t wandering, it was just stuck on being annoyed about the glances Plaxum and Allura gave each other here and there while Pidge had regained her seat in between them. She was kind of regretting forcing Plaxum out of her seat.

“Oh! I nearly forgot, today is Monday!” Allura suddenly blurted. She turned to Pidge with a bright smile. “Should we start today?”

Plaxum’s facial expression dropped. “You rejected me taking you to a movie but you’re offering to go and study with a nerd?”

Pidge glared at Plaxum while Allura giggled.

“It’s a Monday. I would never do anything on a crucial school night unless it’s related to school.” Allura’s face suddenly scrunched up. “And I have a test tomorrow that I’m in dire need of help to study for.” Allura grinned at Pidge. “Do you think you could come over today?”

Pidge’s heart soared and clenched at the same time. Her heart soared since Allura was genuinely asking for Pidge’s help while having rejected Plaxum, a sort of “in-your-face” glee, and clenched because that meant she had to spend time with someone she felt awkward with.

It’d be good practice, though, seeing as it was obvious Plaxum and Allura were going to start dating.

Pidge sucked a breath in and grinned in return with a single nod. “Sure.” She took out her phone to text her mom, internally arguing with her split self. Some of her wanted to back out, some of her wanted to go. The fickleness of how being around Allura made Pidge feel was quite irritating. But, Mrs. Haggar had put her to this, so there wasn’t really an option.

“Wonderful! Let’s go!” Allura speedily packed her stuff away and grabbed Pidge’s stuff from underneath her elbow, organizing all of it and holding it out for Pidge to take back.

Pidge looked up at her with her pencil against her cheek and wide, confused eyes. “We’re going now?”

“Do you have an objection? My parents will be making dinner soon, so we may as well get a move on.” Allura shook the papers.

Pidge took them, putting them into her bag and zipping her bag up, standing up and looking at Allura. Allura’s radiance fueled a smile and a laugh as Pidge got dragged by the wrist out of the building.

 

Pidge has forgotten Allura’s father had orange hair.

Standing in the doorway with a massive smile and sparkling eyes was the man with the orange hair, wearing a pink apron with a red heart over a white t-shirt and jeans.

“Oh, you brought a friend! What a marvelous occasion!” The man was like a mini sun on earth.

Pidge understood where Allura got her cheerful nature from.

“Come in, come in! I’m Coran Zarkon, but you can refer to me as Coran or Allura’s Father Number 1.” The man cheerfully stuck out his hand. “And who might you be?”

Pidge grinned and took the man’s hand. It was as though the man’s joy was contagious; Pidge figured Coran was where Allura got it from. “Pidge Holt,” Pidge introduced.

“It’s nice to meet you Pidge!” Coran retracted his hand and waved as he walked inside the small house. “Come in off the front porch! I was just about to get dinner started. How does homemade tacos sound?”

“Great!” Allura beamed, rushing in after him and throwing her shoes off in the doorway.

Pidge casually stepped inside, looking around. The small house was painted in all pastel yellow and green, with mostly beige and brown furniture. In front of the entrance was a stairway up to the second floor and walls on either side of the entrance. There weren’t doors on the lower floor, except one labeled “Bathroom” next to the kitchen archway in the entrance hallway—instead of doors, there were archways, so Pidge could see clearly both into the living room and the kitchen. The kitchen had white marble counters on bold brown counters. The floors were wooden, with maroon carpeting on the stairs as well as underneath pieces of furniture such as couches or tables. It was a very welcoming, organized house.

“Pidge?”

Pidge snapped out of her examination phase and nodded to Coran. Tacos were good in Pidge’s book.

“Wonderful! I’ll get on it,” Coran cheered, heading into the kitchen.

“Let’s go study in my room,” Allura suggested.

It wasn’t much of a suggestion, seeing as Allura took off without Pidge having time to respond.

“Last one to my room’s a rotten egg!”

Pidge couldn’t help but laugh, kicking off her own shoes and running after Allura, shouting, “That’s not fair! I don’t even know where your room is!”

“Then keep up!” Allura teased over her shoulder, smiling brilliantly at Pidge as she ran down the long hallway of doors on the upstairs floor and looking forward again to turn a corner.

Pidge stayed a good four feet behind Allura since she wasn’t fit, and Allura’s brilliant smile wasn’t helping Pidge focus on running rather than her heart doing somersaults.

Pidge finally got to Allura’s room, which Allura had already opened the door to. Allura sat on her bed, kicking her beds lightly against the side with an evil smile. “You’re the rotten egg,” Allura teased, her smile immediately melting into a gentle one with giggles.

Pidge giggled herself and ran over to Allura’s bed too, hopping up onto it to sit next to Allura. She let out a relaxed sigh and brought her backpack into her lap. “So, what exactly do you want to study for the unit test?”  
“Everything,” Allura sighed, falling back onto her backpack against the bed. “I’ve only had a few days in the class. I have no idea what’s going on, nor do I know anything of American history anyway.”

“Crash course time,” Pidge declared with a nod, unzipping her backpack and taking her history binder out while Allura sat up and grabbed her textbook from her bedside table’s shelf.

They got through one page of the textbook before Coran yelled up the stairs, “Dinner is ready!”

Pidge scrunched her nose. “That was quick.”

“They’re made from a box,” Allura informed, jumping off of her bed and racing out of the room. “Last one down is a rotten egg squared!”

“Not fair!” Pidge screeched while laughing, placing the textbook down on Allura’s bed and hopping off herself to race after Allura.

This time, Pidge got close enough that had she jumped off the stairs and not slipped and fallen flat on her face, she would’ve won.

“Pidge, are you okay?” Allura frantically asked, crouching down next to Pidge as Pidge rolled over onto her back with a groan.

Pidge couldn’t help but laugh, rubbing the cheek that hurt and smiling underneath her hand. “Yeah, I’m fine.” She sat up some to smile evilly at Allura. “I’m a rotten egg, but you’re a rotten egg squared.”

“You jumped and slipped! That doesn’t count!” Allura exclaimed, jokingly angry. She couldn’t keep a straight face; she laughed as she stood up and held a hand out to Pidge.

Pidge grinned and took Allura’s hand, standing up on wobbling legs. Holding Allura’s hand had her stomach holding butterflies in knots.

“The dining room is through the kitchen.” Allura showed Pidge through the gorgeous, small kitchen and to a table seating six sitting in another room through yet another archway. Allura took a seat on a side, Pidge hesitantly taking the seat next to her.

Coran came in with a plate and a bowl, the plate holding both soft and hard shells and the bowl containing meat. “Hold on a sec, I’ve got to get everything set up so everyone can serve themselves.” It seemed as though Coran only had one vocal tone, and that was cheerful.

The front door opened, someone calling, “I’m home.”

“You’re just in time! I’m almost done putting everything on the table,” Coran called in response as he took a tray of cookies out of the oven.

The man who’d just come in entered the kitchen, putting a hand on Coran’s arm and pecking his cheek.

“Pidge, this is Alfor, or Allura’s Father Number 2,” Coran introduced for him as they both walked in, looking at the other man.

The man’s face stiffened. “Why am I number 2?”

Coran smirked and put a hand to his own head, sliding it over to above Alfor’s head by the slightest bit.

Alfor’s face dropped. “The half-inch you have on me does not make you Father Number 1.”

“It absolutely does,” Coran said triumphantly, slipping out from Alfor’s hand and putting the tray of cookies down while the girls both giggled. Alfor rolled his eyes before sitting down on the other side of the table.

“Well your dads are fun,” Pidge commented to Allura.

Coran made one last trip to the kitchen, grabbing four glasses and a pitcher of water, as well as a jug of milk. “There!” Coran bubbled, taking his seat next to Alfor. “Dinner is served!”

Pidge looked at the pile of hard shells. The one on top was perfect, with no cracks, no burned areas, no nothing. She stretched her hand out to grab the shell but a hand was slipped under hers, placed on the shell. Pidge looked up and glared at Allura, finding her narrowing her eyes in return.

“Please take your hand off mine so I may take the shell,” Allura demanded in a neutral tone. The lack of tone made it clear Allura was set on getting the shell.

Pidge was also set on getting the shell. “I was reaching for it first.”

“I put my hand on it first,” Allura argued.

“I was just about to grab it,” Pidge argued back.

“Girls, there’s lots of shells. No need to bicker,” Alfor jumped in, snatching a hard shell from under the one Allura had her hand on.

Pidge groaned, taking her hand away and choosing a different shell.

“So, Pidge, tell us a bit about yourself,” Coran prompted as everyone was busy putting their tacos together.

Pidge paused. The last time she’d heard that question was in classes with social teachers who had everyone introduce themselves in class. Pidge hates those classes.

Pidge sucked in a breath and hummed. “Well, I’m interested in technology and space. I like to watch cartoons and play video games in my free time. Uh…” Pidge blanked on what to say next, staring at Coran with a lost expression.

Coran’s eyes sparkled. “You’re interested in technology?” he questioned enthusiastically.

Pidge nodded her head.

“How wonderful!” Coran looked to Allura. “You have good taste in friends.”

Allura leaned in to talk to Pidge. “My dad, Coran, taught mechanics back in the UK.”

Pidge nodded to show she understood Allura, then eating while watching Coran and Alfor.

“I went in for a teacher interview at GASA today,” Coran beamed.

Alfor chuckled and kissed his husband’s cheek. “I’m sure you did great,” he supported Coran, going back to his taco and beginning to eat.

“There are four teacher applying for the job, apparently,” Coran sighed. He then smiled. “It’s just a taddy bit of a threat. How was your first day being an American copper?”

Alfor hummed. “Nothing big happened today. Mostly paperwork.”

Allura leaned in again. “My father, Alfor, is going to be a chief police officer.”

Pidge nodded again, wanting to see more of Coran and Alfor. Coran was obviously the comedic and enthusiastic part of the duo, while Alfor was the down-to-earth, straight forward part of the duo. They were an interesting pair.

By the end of dinner, including having talked and eaten cookies while still at the table, it felt like no time had passed.

“Oh, look at the time! I’ve got to get the dishwasher running,” Coran bumbled, getting up from his seat and clearing dishes from the table.

Alfor joined in, following Coran. So, Allura did too. Pidge felt awkward, unsure of what to do. She wasn’t at other people’s houses often, after all.

Once Allura came back from clearing her own plate, she asked, “Shall we continue the crash course?”

Pidge nodded. “Yeah, we should if you want to pass tomorrow’s exam.”

“You’re going to pass that exam tomorrow! I believe in you!” Coran called encouragingly from the kitchen.

“You’ll be just fine, Allura,” Alfor chimes in.

Both girls laughed lightly. Allura looked at Pidge with shimmering eyes that made Pidge’s heart skip a beat. She sucked in a breath to calm herself.

“Your parents are so cool,” Pidge sighed softly so that the men couldn’t hear, her face dropping into an unenthusiastic frown. “My mom is pretty mellow.”

“Well that’s not a bad thing, is it? If she weren’t who she is, you wouldn’t be who you are, so I wouldn’t say it’s a bad thing for her to be mellow, would you?” Allura giggled quietly in response with a smile, then taking Pidge’s plate and walking to the kitchen.

Pidge couldn’t help but smile gently, her chest filling with warmth as she watched Allura walk away to go and joke around with her dad and her father in the kitchen.

“No, I guess not.”

 


	10. "Allura's sexy as hell."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> note 6/6/18: "Everyone Is Gay" by A Great Big World

“So let me get this straight,” Lance inquired as the three of them peered around a wall into the cafeteria kitchen. “You didn’t talk to her at all yesterday or today? Even after establishing being rotten egg buddies?”

Pidge groaned. “We didn’t establish being rotten egg buddies, Lance. That was you. Besides, I don’t need to see her until tutoring later.”

Lance glared down at her. “It’s rude to not talk to your egg buddy.”

Pidge glared back up at him. “I’ve been busy.”

“Oh yeah, busy,” Hunk sarcastically commented. “Busy stealing from the lunchroom.”

“Lighten up, Hunk. We can’t go to game club empty handed,” Lance said with a wide smirk on his face. There was a moment of silence between them as the lunch lady left her post in the kitchen, going off to check something in the freezer. “Go, go, go,” Lance whispered orders.

The three of them ran on their toes into the kitchen, grabbing leftover cookies and muffins from the table in the middle of the mini room. They sprinted back out, taking off and bursting into the computer lab.

Mr. Ulaz turned in his chair to give them all a dropped face. “You stole those from the lunchroom, didn’t you?”

The three looked between themselves, no one making a peep.

Mr. Ulaz sighed and turned back to his computer. “Set them on the table.”

The three all said a silent ‘yes’, then going over to the table in the corner of the room designated for snacks. The computer lab was pretty close to packed, but the three secluded computers next to the snack table were left empty—designated spots for the top three gamers of the club. Creepily synchronized, all three of them entered their school usernames and passwords, then leaning back in their chairs and looking to each other.

“So you’ve been ignoring Allura?” Hunk questioned gently, giving a kind grin. Hunk was always supportive. Pidge could swear that Hunk was an angel sent to look over the hell hole that was their high school.

“Because you’re really crushing on her now, right?” Lance pried, putting his hands up on the back of his head and giving a wild smirk.

Pidge would swear that Lance was the devil.

Pidge rolled her eyes and swiveled in her chair a bit. “Mm… Not really. I haven’t been ignoring her; she hasn’t talked to me either.” She then stopped moving and squinted at Lance. “And I’m not crushing.”

“You find her very attractive and get butterflies when you talk to her,” Hunk pointed out calmly with a widened grin.

“That’s not crushing, that’s finding her attractive,” Pidge huffed with crossed arms, turning to her computer as to not have to look either of the boys in the eye.

“Being attracted is crushing,” Lance bluntly stated.

Pidge turned red with a snarl, her anger and embarrassment bursting. “I barely know her! I’m not crushing!” Luckily for her, the room was always loud during game club since everyone had a group to talk to within the club, so her outburst wasn’t noticed.

“Love is a mess,” Hunk said with a light laugh.

“ _Pidge_ is a mess,” Lance corrected.

Pidge glared at him to find yet another smirk. She wished she had a binder out so she could throw it at Lance.

“I’m not a mess,” Pidge murmured her defense.

Lance hummed, putting his hand to his chin in a thinking position. “You’re right.” Lance snapped his fingers and gave her a smirk of a smile. “You’re a gay disaster.”

“I am not!” Pidge cried, putting her hands up and clenching fistfuls of hair while shutting her eyes as tightly as possible. Her blood pressure was rising. Trying to cope with slowly finding that she adored Allura’s personality on top of already adoring her appearance was hard enough on its own; being teased about it really put her on edge.

“You kind of are,” Hunk chuckled, an innocent grin on his face. Pidge wasn’t looking at them but she knew Hunk would be innocently joking along.

“Come one, come all,” Lance suddenly said, standing up and putting one hand behind his back with the other being used for gestures. “Come and see our new exhibit! The one and only Katie Holt: Gay Disaster!”

Pidge put her face to the table and loudly groaned as Lance laughed.

“Katie Holt: Gay Disaster…” Hunk laughed. “That’s a new one.”

“I like Lesbean better, even if it’s making fun of my height,” Pidge sadly muttered, turning her head so her cheek was on the table and squishing her frown.

“Don’t worry, Gay Bean Sprout,” Lance reassured with a ruffle of her hair, sitting back down. “You’ll figure it all out soon enough.”

Pidge simply groaned in response, then sitting up with a huff. “Have you made any progress with that diner kid then?”

“His name is Keith, and…” Lance gulped and laughed nervously. “Not… really…”

“Then you’re not one to talk,” Pidge scoffed. She couldn’t help but feel a bit relieved, so a grin warmed her face and a laugh escaped her mouth.

“Hey!” Lance exclaimed, offended. He pointed a finger at Hunk. “It’s not like he’s made any progress either!”

“I’m not just going to go up to Shay and talk to her! That would make me look creepy!” Hunk defended himself. He then pouted. “And scary.”

“There, so we’re all messes,” Pidge said with a nod and a grin.

“We may be messes, but you’re still a disaster,” Lance laughed.

Pidge rolled her eyes but joined in with Lance. Hunk joined in lightly too.

“So, what’s the plan for luring the girl in?” Lance questioned through the laughter, silencing Hunk and Pidge.

“The plan? What plan?” Pidge questioned, scratching her head. “I wasn’t planning on luring her in, you told me not to…”

“You _have_ to have a plan,” Lance insisted with a strict nod. “Plaxum is starting to challenge me about who can score a partner first. If you distract Allura and eventually make her love you instead while I pull Keith in, then Plaxum won’t have anything on me.” Lance held an evil, prideful smile.

Pidge snorted with a raised eyebrow, crossing her arms comfortably. “You think I’d lure Allura in just to help your self esteem? No thanks.”

Hunk couldn’t help but laugh at everything.

Pidge hummed. “Maybe you should ask Hunk for help since he seemingly can only talk to girls who aren’t Shay.”

Hunk stopped giggling and became a tomato. This time, Pidge and Lance laughed.

“Okay, for real though, are you going to do anything to intervene? Or are you going to just let things be?” Lance asked, looking at Pidge as his laughter calmed down.

Pidge’s laughter turned into a sigh, slumping down in her seat. “I don’t know… I don’t want to go up against Plaxum; I like her. She’s fun. And besides, I’m only just getting to know Allura, even if she’s sexy as hell…” Pidge switched off with Hunk, turning red as his blush faded. She sat up and cleared her throat. “I never said that. You never heard that, and you can’t quote me on it.”

“Allura’s sexy as hell,” Lance repeated mockingly while Hunk’s chuckles resurfaced.

Pidge groaned and sunk back down in her seat. “Can you not?”

Hunk put a hand on her shoulder, composing himself. “Sorry.”

Pidge batted his hand away, sulking. “You don’t mean that.” She glared at them. “You both think it’s funny.”

“Because it is!” Lance laughed lightly, his laughter dying down. “And you say you’re so sure you won’t go after her.” Lance clicked his tongue, beginning to type on his computer and pulling a game up to occupy himself. “I’m sure you will one day.” He looked at Pidge. His blank expression held something it rarely ever did; it held genuine confidence, so genuine it crept under Pidge’s skin and irked in her nerves and stopped her blood. The expression only lasted a breathtaking moment, then turning into his typical teasing older-brother type smirk. “It’s written on your forehead.”

Pidge couldn’t respond. She was confused out of her mind. First Lance was insisting she hide her feelings, and now he was insisting she try to get to know Allura better and fall for her. She couldn’t tell what she herself even wanted. Lance’s message and his expression didn’t leave her for the rest of the day as she attempted to understand everything she felt and what exactly Allura was to her.

 

She stepped out of the shower, immediately ruffling her hair with a towel before wrapping it around her body. She ran her hands through her hair as she walked back to her room. Throwing pajamas on and brushing her hair, she couldn’t see herself in her dresser mirror. She could only see Lance’s sure expression.

_Is it really that obvious? Is Allura really going to be anything to me?_

No answer came to her thoughts, instead an empty feeling sinking her heart down into her stomach, causing a knot in her stomach. She grumbled, tossing her towel on her dresser lazily as she flopped down onto her bed. She groaned into the pillow before turning over and reaching past her glasses to turn her bedside light off. She laid on her back and let out a breath, looking up. The ceiling greeted her with a warm, dim green light—glow-in-the-dark stars glued up there above her bed. A wave of relaxation hit, the stars making her think of when the stars were first applied. She remembered watching her brother stand on her bed and glue the stars up with the help of their father.

She closed her eyes and grinned.

“I miss you, dad.”

A tear traveled down the side of her face into her wet hair as she slipped away to sleep.


	11. "Shit, I lose."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> much overdo chapter i'm sorry,,, more development though!! yay!! we're getting there folks  
> soon i get to torture everyone cackles  
> this chapter's another light-hearted, hope-filled chapter so enjoy the warmth while it lasts
> 
> note 6/6/18: "Nine In The Afternoon" by Panic! At The Disco

Waking up to the sun rising and the birds chirping would have been much preferred to the horribly invasive alarm that rang through her ears. She sat up in bed with a groan, reaching over to her bedside table and grabbing her phone as well as her glasses. She put her glasses on and read the notification on her phone. Any light feeling of joy fled from her veins. Her heart sank into her stomach. Her head hurt, as did the corners of her eyes as tears began to congregate. A hatred for Lance’s stupidly confusing advice arose, as well as a hatred for herself and for Plaxum.

 **_Allura:_ ** _Hey, Pidge! I’m really sorry I didn’t text you yesterday, and I completely forgot about tutoring! Plaxum and I went on a date and it slipped my mind to tell you. Sorry! I hope your evening went well anyway._

Pidge put her phone back on the bedside table, face down, and sucked in a breath before forcing herself to stand up and get on with her morning. Of course, chemistry class was every day so the thought of having to see Allura later lurked in the back of her mind like a distant siren, but Allura sat rows behind her in the normal class setting, so Pidge kept reminding herself of that. Then tech class came to mind, but Allura sat at a desk on the other side of the room, so that’d be okay too. She tried her best to forget Allura and forget Plaxum, but she couldn’t. Allura stuck around in her mind. She couldn’t focus. Her morning was hell. Classes were hell. Especially tech, where she had to actively avert her eyes from looking to one side.

In the middle of a quiet classroom, a hissing sound came from next to her — the direction she was avoiding. She glared sideways, talking in a whisper. “Lance, what do you want?”

“What’s up with you? You’re not talking at all,” Lance whispered back, leaning in towards Pidge.

“Did something happen?” Hunk pitched in, leaning in towards Pidge too.

“No, nothing,” Pidge huffed sarcastically, sinking in her seat. “Except for the worst possible thing.” She let out a short breath before whispering choppily, “Allura and Plaxum… well, they went on a date.”

“ _What?!_ ” Lance screeched.

Mr. Ulaz cleared his voice from the front of the room, the three heads lifting and six eyes peering over their computers. Mr. Ulaz raised a soft eyebrow at Lance. “Lance, is there an issue?”

Lance laughed nervously and smiled. “No. Sorry, Mr. Ulaz.”

“Please be a little quieter and focus on your work.”

The three heads lowered again.

“They went on a date?!” Lance whispered.

Pidge groaned and nodded her head, staring at her computer screen while nothing but anger and confusion pumped her blood.

“Well,” Hunk began, thought he sucked in a breath through his open mouth and then shut it. He was at a loss for words.

“Shit,” Lance grumbled. “I lose.”

Pidge rolled her eyes. She got shoulder rubs on both sides though. That got her through the rest of class.

Until near the end of class, when her phone buzzed with a message.

She assumed it was her mom or her brother bothering her about something having to do with family planning since her brother was supposed to visit soon, but she was highly disappointed.

 **_Allura:_ ** _Hey! Today is  a Thursday, so I was wondering if you are free to tutor tonight? I think I’m a little too far behind in chemistry… Is it possible that you could help me learn the essentials from previous units tonight?_

“Say yes and offer to have her over at your house,” Hunk suddenly spoke from behind her.

She could feel both heads breathing down her neck on either side.

“Guys,” she grumbled.

“I agree with Hunk,” Lance put forth. “How else will you win her over and steal her for yourself?”

“ _Guys,_ ” she growled.

Both heads backed off, though Hunk kept his eyes on Pidge. She noticed. Hunk gave her a grin. Pidge gave an unsure half-frown, which Hunk nodded to. They were silently communicating. They were good at it, especially when Pidge didn’t want to talk about something but needed support; Hunk could always communicate with her solely through facial expressions when needed. In this instance, he was reassuring her, encouraging her to text Allura back.

Pidge sucked in a breath, straightened in her seat, and began typing slowly.

_Sure, I’m free. My place?_

Pidge then looked up to watch as Allura looked at her phone’s notification. Allura looked up and smiled at Pidge.

Butterflies awakened and Pidge’s face turned hot. Allura’s smile was a sight to capture every time.

The feeling was interrupted by Pidge’s phone buzzing.

 **_Allura:_ ** _Sounds great! See you later! Meet you outside the library?_

Pidge grinned at her phone as the butterflies settled into comfort and the heat from her face disappeared—though a blush stayed.

_Perfect._

 

They stepped off of the public bus, walking down the sidewalk past a few houses before turning onto the path to a particularly small one. She slammed the door open, slamming it into the wall with one hand and marching in. She turned her head with scanning eyes, finding her target in the kitchen. She sped over, stopping in front of the counter that separated the kitchen and the dining room; her mother looked up from cutting up various vegetables with a bright smile.

“Welcome home, Katie,” the mother beamed.

“Hey, uh,” Pidge cleared her throat, poking her head back to look out the door to have view of Allura, then looking back at her mother, “okay, I brought a new friend home, I don’t want you to freak out, I’m tutoring her since she’s a transfer student from England.”

Her mother’s face lit up in a fascinated manner. “Oh! A girl you say?”

“Mom,” Pidge urged with one of the most serious expressions she could make. “I like this new friend. I’d prefer if we didn’t scare her away so she never comes over again.”

“You _like_ her or you like her?” the mother leaned slightly while teasing, giving a small laugh.

“ _Mom,_ ” Pidge urged again, except this time in a scolding manner.

Her mother gave a reassuring nod. Pidge grinned and nodded in response, then heading back to the doorway and inviting Allura inside. Allura walked in, warm smile and bright eyes. She walked ahead of Pidge, exploring, with Pidge keeping up behind her.

“I know it’s nothing compared to your house, but here we are,” Pidge laughed nervously with an uncertain smile, though her smile melted into a genuine one as she looked over at her mom.

Allura’s smile only grew. “It’s beautiful—and so comforting! Your house has a nice, warm feeling to it. I love it!” Allura squealed and started running around, checking everything out and asking about everything.

Pidge’s chest filled with warmth. The house was very small; the kitchen and dining room were all that existed on the ground floor. The dining room also had a couch and a television in it by a fireplace, so in a sense, the “dining room” was more or less simply a living space—a mixture of a living room and a dining room. A bookshelf sat by the front door on one side, with a coffee table holding their house phone and a dying houseplant on the other side. The stairwell acted as the wall for the full room, kitchen and living space. Pidge pulled Allura’s attention to upstairs, where there was the bathroom and three small bedrooms.

Pidge felt very awkward as she opened the door to her room.

“I know it’s nothing like your room, but here she is.” Pidge gulped and rubbed the back of her neck.

Allura looked at her, originally grinning, and cracked a smile. “I think it suits you.” She peered at the room. “It’s small, but full of wonder.” Allura went into the room, taking a seat on Pidge’s bed and putting her backpack on the floor to then search through.

Pidge died on the spot.

Of course, a second after not breathing or moving a single muscle, she whipped her phone out and screamed at Lance over text while Allura was busy.

_sHE SAID MY ROOM IS LIKE ME_

Lance immediately began typing back.

 **_Bitch:_ ** _how is that a good thing_

_SHE SAID IT WAS FULL OF WONDER_

**_Bitch:_ ** _well stop texting me and thank her for the compliment already_

There was a moment before Lance’s next text came.

 **_Bitch:_ ** _i know you didn’t thank her_

Pidge glared at her phone and nodded at her contact name, having another reason to keep Lance’s contact as such. She shoved her phone into her sweatshirt pocket and went over, joining Allura on the bed and opening her own bag to look through.

By the might of some higher being, she swallowed a lump in her throat and spoke up suddenly.

“S-So, how was the date?”

This time, she wished she would die on the spot.

Allura shrugged. “It was alright, I suppose. Not much happened. Plaxum is quite interesting to talk to, so it was surely time well spent, though it wasn’t much of an eventful night is all. The movie wasn’t the best, either. Quite misleading in the trailer, sadly.” She hummed, finding what she was looking for and taking a paper out, holding it up for Pidge to see. _Chemistry: Basic Vocabulary_. “Shall we begin?”

As horrible as it sounded even to herself, Pidge was relieved that Allura didn’t find the evening with Plaxum all that exciting. She looked past the paper to see the little spark ignited in Allura’s eyes, excitement and motivation dug deep into her expression. It was nice to know that Allura was looking forward to working with Pidge. And yes, she may have been a little proud for seemingly being more exciting than Plaxum, at least in this one moment.

Pidge was able to give a genuine grin accompanied by a soft nod.

She figured that maybe Lance’s insane rambling wasn’t so insane after all.


	12. "Lance and Hunk, Emotional Bodyguards."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> looks like i'm going to be able to update every week or even every few days starting soon!! only two weeks left of school, thank the lord  
> hopefully this chapter makes the wait worth it with its idiocy
> 
> note 6/6/18: "Verge" by Owl City and Aloe Blacc

The Red Top’s atmosphere was a nice change from school. Of course, it was a Saturday, so Pidge had already agreed over text the night before that she’d tutor Allura in the evening. Pidge was going to cherish the morning away from everything. The diner was pretty close to empty again, thankfully, so it felt normal and acted as a place to destress. Pidge sat with Lance on one side and Hunk on the other as usual. The abnormal thing was her having her arms crossed on the counter with her chin resting on her top arm, rather than sitting up normally. She was too taxed to sit up normally.

“So, how was everyone’s weeks?” Hunk questioned as though he hadn’t talked to them in person in less than 24 hours. He took a sip of water, water being the only thing the three of them had so far.

“The most exciting part of the week was exploding some chemicals in lab,” Lance sighed, “so my week was boring. How ‘bout you, big man?”

Hunk squinted his eyes slightly but went on to answer, his glowing grin immediately returning. “It was good. Mr. Ulaz brought up robotics club a couple of times; that felt nice.” Hunk took another sip of his water. “He said I’d be a great addition to the team!”

Lance turned to Pidge. “How about you, Lesbean?”

Pidge groaned, lifting her head. “That about sums it up: lesbian. A small, unimportant, disappointed lesbian.” She gave a little huff and put her head back down.

“Cheer up, Pidgeon.” Lance patted Pidge’s back. “You may be small and full of fury, but you aren’t unimportant. Allura needs you for tutoring and she enjoys your company. That’s pretty important!” Lance gave a smile.

Pidge put her cheek on the counter so she could look up at Lance, his smile putting a little bit of joy to flow through her veins. Lance’s smile just had that kind of relieving power. That relieved joy quickly vanished since her thoughts didn’t vanish. Pidge let out a sigh, darting her eyes away from Lance again. “I’m not Plaxum’s level of importance to her.”

“Hey, everything will be okay,” Hunk quietly spoke up, reaching a hand out to grab Pidge’s shoulder and give it a small squeeze.

Lance put his hand on Pidge’s other shoulder. “You’ve got your emotional bodyguards here for you!”

Lance received both sets eyebrows raised.

“Emotional bodyguards?” Pidge questioned in a flat tone, narrowed eyes and a frown directed at Lance.

Hunk hummed and put one arm over his chest and used the other hand to hold his chin. “Hm, I guess it’s fitting.” Hunk gave his glowing grin. “We’ll always be here for you, Pidge.”

“Lance and Hunk, Emotional Bodyguards.” Lance held his fists out and made motions back and forth with them as he exclaimed in a serious tone, though it was clear he was kidding. “Fighting the crimes and evils of Pidge’s brain and heart.”

Hunk held his arms out with straight hands jabbing the air as he joked, too. “Helping to save the humanity and intelligence that make Pidge.”

Lance put a fist in front of Pidge and nodded at Hunk, Hunk nodding back and sticking his fist next to Lance’s. “Go, bodyguards!” they both chanted, throwing their hands up. They both looked to Pidge with excited expressions.

Their expressions were opposite of Pidge’s bored, hopeless expression, though it shifted as Pidge let their excitability control her; she let go of her misery and enjoyed Lance’s and Hunk’s ridiculousness, grinning with cheerful eyes.

“Thanks, guys.”

They both put their hands on Pidge’s shoulders again.

“No problemo,” Lance said, unsurprisingly getting an eye-roll from Pidge afterwards.

“We’ll _always_ be here for you,” Hunk repeated again, this time smiling.

Pidge smiled in return.

“Sorry to interrupt your cheering that the entire store could hear,” another voice joined in, very clearly not amused by Lance’s and Hunk’s bodyguard charade. Keith, who was still wearing a waitress uniform, huffed and glared at Lance specifically. Lance laughed nervously through his teeth, rubbing the back of his neck. Keith cleared his throat. “Did you guys see that the old Voltron movie is getting a series in the summer? It’s going to be a short series, but it’ll be something.”

Pidge slammed her hands down on the table and lifted herself out of her seat in a split second as her face glowed and her eyes nearly popped out. “No. Way. Really?!”

Keith shushed her. “Not you too. This tiny place doesn’t need another loud voice clouding everything.”

Pidge raised an eyebrow and looked to Lance. “Exactly how often have you visited here without us?”

“Lots,” Keith answered for Lance unhappily. There was something in look in his eyes and the undertone of his words that gave off something _not_ hatred or annoyance.

Pidge grinned evilly, though she kept to herself, staring at Keith. Keith caught her glance for a second and his expression faltered before he turned back to glaring at Lance.

Lance started continuously poking Pidge’s arm with vigor. “We have to binge it when it comes out.” He then pointed at Keith. “And we have to invite him.”

Pidge joined the Glare-At-Lance club and spoke in a low tone. “Lance, group protocol. We don’t know him well enough yet.”

“His name is _Keith!_ ” Lance replied in a whisper.

Pidge narrowed her eyes even further, pushing her glasses up on her nose. “Pro. To. Col.”

“I’ve been texting him!” Lance continued to whisper. “He’s really cool, even though he’s grumpy half the time!”

“Uh, guys? What’s going on?” Hunk joined in on the whispering, making a huddle of quiet heads.

“Hunk, you think Keith should join our group, don’t you?” Lance questioned hopefully.

Hunk gave a slow shrug. “I don’t know him at all, but if you like him, he can’t be that bad.”

Pidge growled in a whisper, “Hunk, don’t encourage him!”

“Could the huddle separate so that I can take your orders and do my job?” Keith interrupted their whispers.

“It’s final, you shall join our group and binge the Voltron series with us once it comes out,” Lance announced to Keith.

“What?!” Pidge exclaimed. “I didn’t give permission for this!”

“That’s not something we offer here,” Keith droned. He started scribbling on his pad. “Today’s special it is for the three of you to share.”

“And what is that, exactly?” Hunk hesitantly questioned.

“Red velvet waffles,” Keith answered before abruptly turning on his heel, his _high_ heel, and walking away.

“He’s too rude and down to earth,” Pidge muttered, watching Keith as he walked away and talked to the kitchen staff through a window.

“He’s so dreamy,” Lance sighed.

“And I’m the gay one.” Pidge gave him another glare.

“It’s not my fault he’s attractive,” Lance defended himself with crossed arms and a raised chin.

“If Keith’s going to be a part of our group, why doesn’t Allura join, too?” Hunk questions.

“Allura?” Pidge choked.

Lance smirked at Pidge, as though he were getting revenge. “Yeah, why don’t you invite Allura, Pidge?”

Pidge gulped and stammered. “I’m not sure she’s even seen Voltron…”

“Then get her to watch it!” Lance urged with his smirk still wide and satisfied.

“She could come to the diner with us,” Hunk suggested kindly.

Although Hunk’s tone was very different from Lance’s, both tones annoyed her.

And she thought she’d get to have a quiet, nerdy morning with no talk of encouraging Pidge to do another involving Allura.

Pidge sighed. “Fine. I’ll try to get her to watch Voltron at some point.”

“A.S.A.P.,” Lance insisted.

Pidge groaned as her agreement and took out her phone, sending Allura a text asking about when the next tutoring session will be. Keith came over with the pancakes, which Lance and Hunk immediately dug into. Pidge mouthed ‘thank you’ at Keith, though she knew Keith wouldn’t understand why she did.

She was thankful he’d brought pancakes that shut Lance and Hunk up.


	13. "A rejected atom."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so im warning y'all since s6 is supposed to come out june 15th, i based colleen off my own mom so far bc my mom is chill and nerdy so it works right  
> hope this is an enjoyable chapter of suffering ahaha
> 
> note 6/6/18: "Beautiful Lies" by Birdy

Blue hair, olive skin, and blue-green eyes were  _ not _ what Pidge expected to see sitting on Allura’s bed for tutoring.

“I hope you don’t mind. Plaxum was over for some help as well, and my fathers won’t be home for a while, so they can’t drive Plaxum home until then.” Allura smiles brightly down at Pidge.

Pide did not appreciate the sentiment but kept to herself. Plaxum grinned at Pidge. Pidge simply glared back, getting a raised eyebrow in return.

Pidge turned her dissatisfied look to Allura. “What can  _ we  _ help you with today?” she growled. She was trying her best not to let her anger show, she really was.

Allura squinted. “Pidge, are you alright?”

“Perfectly,” Pidge grumbled, setting her backpack down on the floor and hopping up onto the bed next to Plaxum. Plaxum looked to the side and gave Pidge a ‘what-the-fuck’ glare. She’d received it multiple times in chemistry.

“Well, I still have some catching up to do in history and chemistry. Math is alright for now, I believe…” Allura sifted through her backpack, crouching next to her bed in front of Plaxum.

If Pidge has laser eyes, Allura would have had a hole through her back, and Plaxum would have a hole for a face.

Allura shot up and flopped down onto the bed, catching Plaxum in the process and pushing her down onto the bed too. Both of them broke out laughing and took a moment to smile at each other. Allura then held the papers she’s taken out above their heads.

Pidge’s blood ran like lava, her organs now made of fire. What made the anger worse was not understanding what she was feeling.

“So, some help with ions is needed?” Plaxum questioned.

“Ions? What specifi—”

“This one has had me stumped all day. What do you suggest I do?” Allura interrupted.

“Can I see?” Pidge tried to ask, though she was talked over by Plaxum.

Pidge couldn’t see the papers. Nor could she for the next half hour as Plaxum and Allura huddled together, leaning on each other with papers in their laps. They discussed among themselves. It was as though Pidge was a ghost, so no one could see her or hear her after she sat down. Pidge simply sat on her phone texting Lance.

**_Bitch:_ ** _ and they’re just sitting together working? without you??? _

_ Yeah. _

**_Bitch:_ ** _ wow that’s so rude. just leave _

_ But wouldn’t that be rude on my part? _

**_Bitch:_ ** _ but you also have a right to be acknowledged and cared for when y o u were supposed to be the one tutoring???? _

Pidge sighed at her phone, beginning to pack up her things.

_ You have a point. Thanks, Lance. _

“Pidge, are you leaving?” Allura questioned.

Pidge knew she couldn’t look at Allura. Seeing Allura’s concerned eyes and bent mouth would make it harder for Pidge to leave because of guilt. So she continued futzing with her backpack. “Yeah, my mom texted me. She wants me home,” she lied.  _ Please forgive me, _ she pleaded to Allura without words.

“Oh, alright,” Allura said hoarsely. “See you tomorrow, then.”

Pidge simply nodded and walked out, calling her mom.

“Hi, honey! Is everything okay?” her mom answered quickly.

“Can you pick me up?” Pidge asked softly. Her anger was quickly turning into guilt and disappointment—and something else she couldn’t pinpoint the name of.

“A-Alright…”

Pidge immediately hung up on her concerned mother. She didn’t want to talk. She didn’t want to do anything but hide. She didn’t want attention from anyone.

Except one person who pushed her aside and decided she didn’t exist for the sake of a girlfriend.

Pidge sucked a breath in but didn’t let it out, just like she held back tears rather than letting them roll down her face.

Her mom pulled up to the side of the lawn after what felt like a millenia. It was really seven minutes.

“Hey, sorry it took so long, hon,” her mom apologized as Pidge climbed into the passenger seat. Pidge buckled her seatbelt as her mom sighed. “You’re all soaked… You should shower when we get home.”

Pidge hadn’t even realized it had started raining, though once it was brought to her attention, it was all she could hear. Her mom spoke at her, but it sounded distant and blurred, Pidge not comprehending any of it. Everything felt too numb. She was too wrapped up in the emptiness she was left with after seeing Plaxum and Allura. Her mom was simply speaking without needing an answer or, more accurately, without expecting one. The car’s movements didn’t affect Pidge, and for the seven minute car ride back to her house, all Pidge heard was the pouring rain.

Her mom patted her arm twice in as a quick endearment, snapping Pidge out of her trance; she hadn’t realized the car had stopped. Pidge watched as her mom stepped out of the car and sprinted to the front door to get out of the rain. With a deep exhale, letting out a breath she wasn’t aware she was holding, Pidge slowly unbuckled her seatbelt and picked up her backpack as she opened the car door. She swung the backpack over her shoulder as she took a step onto the pavement, locking the door before shutting it and running off into the house.

“How about I put some pizza in the oven while you take a nice long shower and recollect yourself?” her mother offered, giving her a smile from the same counter she did the day Allura came over. It was a different smile this time, though. This smile was motherly one, full of compassion and good intent. “Then we can watch some crime shows and pop brownies in.”

Her mom’s thoughtfulness cracked a grin on her face, her heart warming the tiniest bit as she let her backpack slide off her shoulder and kicked her shoes off. “Thanks, mom.”

Her mom began humming and wandered off, so Pidge took the cue and headed upstairs, tearing her dripping clothes off in the bathroom. She hung her clothes on an inside railing, on a wall attached to the side of the bathtub. The hot water turned her numb body back to fire. But this was a comforting fire, a warming one that was calming. Once the water was off, the cold air she stepped out into felt like a snapback to reality, though the comfort from the heat still stuck. She climbed into pajamas, even though she hadn’t even eaten dinner yet.

As she was ruffling her hair to get it as dry as possible, buzzing echoed from the bathroom. She went next door, finding she’d forgotten her phone on the side of the bathroom sink and Lance was trying to call her. For a second, she debated not picking it up. She thought about ignoring it to keep to herself for a while, not have to pay attention to life for the rest of the evening. She didn’t want to have to talk about emotions or friendships, or anything but British crime shows with her mom.

“Are you doing okay?”

Surprisingly—though it shouldn’t have been surprising since it was her best friend’s voice—hearing Lance was relieving to Pidge. She took a deep breath, allowing herself to indulge Lance and let her feelings out. “I feel like I’ve been an atom rejected by a forming molecule in a science experiment.”

“A rejected atom,” Lance repeated back. “That’s a new way to talk about feeling excluded.”

“They were working on chemistry,” Pidge grumbled, though the slight tinge of annoyance immediately dissipated. She felt empty except for a small amount of calmness settled in her chest.

“Well, that explains it,” Lance laughed. He took a quick pause, then talking in a gentle voice for the first time in forever. “Hey, I’m sure things will work out okay. You don’t need her. If worst comes to worst,  _ you _ ignore  _ her _ and see how she likes it. She was just too distracted with her new girlfriend. It’ll get old and then you’ll be the more interesting one. Don’t worry your tiny lesbian ass over it.”

Pidge laughed lightly. She’d usually be annoyed, but Lance’s joke at the end of a sincere thought relaxed her in this situation. “Thanks, Lance.”

“Pizza’s ready! What do you want to watch?” Pidge’s mom screamed up the stairs.

“Sorry for such a short talk, but I’ve gotta go. Pizza and crime shows await,” Pidge jokingly told Lance.

“Wow, I’m being hung up on for crime shows. I’m highly offended,” Lance huffed, purposefully being overly dramatic.

Pidge scoffed with an eyeroll in return and they both laughed. “Bye, Lance.”

“Bye, Lesbean,” Lance got in before Pidge hung up.

She made sure to text him a kind word of thanks before leaving her phone in her room and heading downstairs.

_ Fuck you, Keith-lover. _


	14. "Knife Man."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoa?? an update??? exactly a week from the last???? what is this madness  
> alSO madness talk oh my gosh it's almost been an entire year since i started mll i can't believe it thanks to everyone who's been such an amazing support especially after the six month break period  
> this has been such an awesome experience for me to write this and to get such wonderful feedback so really thank you to everyone who even just takes the time to read
> 
> important note!!  
> so i realized today that i have a playlist for mll and from that playlist i listen to a certain song on repeat for every chapter, one that matches the tone of the chapter  
> for today's chapter "I Can't Make You Love Me" by Dave Thomas Junior is the song  
> i think i'll say what song to listen to while reading from now on so for people who like listening to music while reading or writing or drawing or whatever, now you can enjoy it even more!!  
> also the songs are 10/10 anyway so they're good listens
> 
> later in the evening edit: i went back and put songs for every chapter, so it won't just start this chapter
> 
> thank you guys for everything thus far!! hope you enjoy the chapter ♥

Lab day wasn’t something to look forward to, especially with what had happened over the weekend and it being a Monday morning. At least in tech class Pidge could just overlook Allura’s presence, but in lab, her, Lance, Plaxum, and Pidge were a table.

Lance, having rushed with Pidge out of tech to get to lab first, sat down with a loud yawn before speaking abnormally loudly. “You ready?”

“Pipe down,” Pidge grumbled, sitting down and averting her eyes—which wasn’t hard, considering she had to take the papers for the lab out and put them down on the table. “I’ll just talk to you or not talk at all.”

“Alright, queen bee,” Lance joked, though Pidge wasn’t having any of it. She kept her eyes averted with a gentle frown. Lance frowned himself, giving a small apologetic grin once she glanced back up at him. She looked away again for a second. The next time she looked, Lance’s grin had turned into a smirk.

Pidge was not looking forward to the next hour and a half.

Allura plopped down beside Pidge, Plaxum taking her seat next to Lance. Plaxum immediately ran off to go get goggles and aprons, leaving an extremely uncomfortable silence between Allura and Pidge. Pidge glanced up, finding Allura glancing sideways at her. Pidge’s heart raced and she immediately darted her eyes around to make it seem like she wasn’t doing anything but looking around. She totally wasn’t just looking to Allura because she adored the sight. Totally.

Allura cleared her throat. “Are… Are you doing well today, Pidge?” she hesitantly asked kindly.

“Mm,” Pidge quickly hummed in response, looking at Lance.

Lance gave her big disappointed eyes and nodded his head sideways a bit, then mouthing, “ _Talk to her!_ ”

Pidge glared at him, mouthing back, “ _Traitor._ ” She then gulped, erasing her glare. “H-How about you?” Pidge stammered, looking to Allura.

Allura smiled once Pidge was looking at her. “I’m quite well, thank you.” She then leaned in and whispered, “Though, I think I would have been more prepared for today had Plaxum stepped aside and let you tutor on Saturday.”

Pidge and her both exchanged smiles and lighthearted snickers. Pidge looked to Lance, who gave a smile and a small thumbs up.

Plaxum didn’t come back with goggles and aprons; instead, she brought over a wooden box with no top, containing a bunch of wooden balls with holes and even more plastic sticks.

“We’re making molecules today,” Plaxum announced, as though none of them already knew that was the lab that day.

Suddenly, the table buzzed, Lance picking his phone off of the table. His face immediately lit up with the biggest smile it could manage, his fingers flying as he responded to a text. He put his phone down and put his elbows on the table, his chin in his palms. “Keith invited me over for dinner.”

Pidge raised an eyebrow. “Keith? And you? Getting somewhere? Are you lying to me?”

Lance huffed, crossing his arms and pouting. “We _are_ getting somewhere, thank you.” Lance’s phone buzzed again.

Pidge, smirking widely, snatched his phone and looked at the message despite him screaming at her to give it back.

 **_Knife Man:_ ** _I almost forgot to tell you. The Voltron series release date got pushed forward. Now it’s going to air on Valentine’s Day._

Pidge looked up at Lance with the most unamused look possible, continuing to hold his phone while Lance held his head. “Knife Man.”

“Just give it back!” Lance whined into his arms.

Pidge held his phone out to him. “You aren’t going to explain to me what Knife Man means?”

“He carries a purple pocket knife everywhere,” Lance grumbled, seizing his phone and shoving it in his pocket.

“A purple pocket knife?” Allura questioned slowly.

“That’s the gayest it gets for angsty teenagers,” Pidge said with a straight face.

Laughter broke out from both Lance and Allura, Pidge allowing a grin to sneak its way back onto her face. Pidge found herself feeling comfortable, despite constantly looking at Allura. It was a new feeling, that was for sure.

“No way!” Lance exclaimed as he finally read the message Keith had sent him. “Voltron’s coming out on Valentine’s!”

“Oh my, I nearly forgot!” Allura muttered, taking out her own phone and typing away.

Pidge shrugged them both off, too puzzled by being comfortable. Sure, she still wasn’t fully over Saturday, but Allura hadn’t lost any of her looks or her charm. It made no sense.

“Shall we get started?” Plaxum questioned.

Allura automatically lit up like a flame, smiling brilliantly at Plaxum. “Absolutely.”

Plaxum and Allura went on autopilot in their own duo word, leaving Lance and Pidge out of the lab. Pidge’s relaxation turned back into anger and disappointment. After a good minute of this, Pidge huffed and got up, going and grabbing another box for just her and Lance to work on. When she sat back down, she found a cookie on top of her papers. She looked up to find Lance munching on another one and icily glaring at Plaxum next to him. Pidge grinned to herself and picked up the cookie, putting the edge of it in her mouth and putting the box down in the middle of her and Lance’s papers. They got to work.

The bell rang in the blink of an eye. That’s how it always felt when Pidge and Lance went off into their own world for lab. Pidge had worked enough that she hadn’t noticed Allura ignoring her, or any of those horrible feelings she didn’t know how to deal with. She started pulling apart the wood-and-plastic molecules she and Lance had made while Lance organized the parts she pulled apart, putting them in their rightful places in the box.

“Be a dear and clean everything up for us?” Plaxum asked, kissing Lance’s cheek and running off without an answer.

Lance groaned and kept sorting.

Pidge heard a caught breath being let go softly, but sharply, next to her. Pidge looked up at Allura. Allura noticed her gaze and leaned to the side ever so slightly.

“U-Um… Is Plaxum into open relationships? Do you know?”

Lance’s head shot up, meeting eyes with Pidge, and they both died of laughter.

“Me? Plaxum?” Lance couldn’t say much else with how much he was laughing.

Pidge calmed herself, clearing her throat and talking for Lance. “Lance and Plaxum are cousins.” She smiled up at Allura to hopefully give some comfort.

“Oh, I didn’t know,” Allura mumbled. Her eyes then widened. “Shit,” she whispered, grabbing her stuff. She looked at Pidge. “Sorry, I have to catch up with Plaxum; she’s supposed to introduce me to her art friends. Do you mind clearing up for me as well?”

Pidge’s smile dropped, as did her heart and every muscle in her body. She nodded, forcing a grin. “No problem,” she answered with a forced normal tone.

“Thank you,” Allura cheered before walking away.

Lance let out a big, relieved huff. “There! All sorted.” He grinned at Pidge and nodded his head at the door. “I’ll clean up the boxes.”

“But—” Pidge went to protest.

“ _You_ go run after her.”

Pidge sighed. “She’s going to Pidge’s friends. What am I supposed to tell Hunk? What am I supposed to tell _her?!_ ”

“Just go and ask about tutoring,” Lance insisted, getting up with the two boxes stacked in his hands. “It’s a Monday, isn’t it?” He winked.

Pidge went to protest again, though she shut her mouth and took the opportunity Lance was giving her. She grabbed her papers and her backpack without putting them in, adrenaline rushing through her. Dangerously hopeful, she ran towards the door to be stopped in the doorway by a sea of students. She looked around vigorously. Everything in her dropped again.

“Too late?” Lance came up behind her.

Pidge just gave a small nod as Lance put a hand on her shoulder, though his presence couldn’t comfort her. The horrible feelings were already back again. Her discomfort with Allura dating Plaxum was back, her admiration for Allura was back even if she was able to be comfortable around Allura for once, and now her aching disappointment was back, too. She couldn’t hear anything, either. Everything sounded muffled. Even Lance. She wasn’t phased or hurt by classmates pushing past her to join the sea. All she could feel was every bone in her body feeling ten times heavier. All she could hear was a resounding _Why?_ coming from her own head. All she could see was the sea of students as a shifting screen of various colors, their backpacks and clothes and physical features all blending together to make a blurred picture. All of it was overwhelming.

Finally, she heard something else in her head as Lance pushed her into the sea, joining in the commotion.

Pidge wished she had written an apology letter.

 


	15. "My forgiveness and presence..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the week late update but!! i'm done with school!! so weekly updates are gonna be a thing every thursday from now on (6/21/18) ! ♥  
> this chapter's song: "Someone To You" by Banners

Lance pushed another cookie against Pidge’s open cheek, the other cheek being pressed against a lunch table.

“Eat the cookie,” Lance demanded.

Pidge didn’t respond. Lance put the cookie closer to Pidge’s mouth, getting something out of Pidge; Pidge groaned and turned her head the other way. “I don’t want the cookie,” she muttered with her face against the table.

“If you’re feeling this bad about not catching her earlier, why not walk over and talk to her now?” Hunk suggested, catching Pidge’s eyes as she darted them up to see his gleaming grin.

Pidge looked over his shoulder to see Allura at another table, talking to Plaxum and a table full of other students. Allura glanced over, Pidge immediately darting her eyes back to Hunk and then back down again as her cheeks flushed. “No,” Pidge grumbled.

A cookie hung in front of her face again. “Eat it,” Lance aggressively whispered from behind, standing up from his seat just to put the cookie in front of her face again, his face above hers.

Pidge glared at the cookie. “I don’t want it.”

Lance gave a huff and sat back in his seat. Pidge’s phone buzzed in her pocket. She grudgingly took it out.

**_Allura:_** _Would it be possible for you to come over after school rather than later in the evening?_

She sat up and slammed the phone face down on the table.

Both Hunk and Lance gave her looks.

“You alright there, Pidgeon?” Lance asked.

Pidge gave him a deathly stare.

Lance sighed and gave her a disappointed look. “A text from Allura. I’m right, aren’t I?”

Pidge groaned and put her face to the table again.

“Hey, don’t ignore it! You should respond. It’s a tutoring day. A chance for you to get time with her!” Hunk encouraged enthusiastically.

Pidge simply replied by giving him a deathly stare, too.

“Don’t make her talk to Allura,” Lance hissed at Hunk. “She hasn’t been treating our poor little lesbean right!”

Hunk raised an eyebrow at Lance. “This? Coming from you? Mr. Heartbreaker?”

“Yeah, well, I’m different now,” Lance huffed defensively, crossing his arms again.

Pidge found it in herself to sit up again and half-smirk at Lance evilly. “Different for Knife Man?”

“Shut up!” Lance cried, covering his face with his hands.

Both Hunk and Pidge laughed.

“Back to the subject, though. Pidge, you really should respond.” Hunk was being gentle now. “Even if things aren’t great right now, you shouldn’t cut her out. That could make things worse for your chances.”

Lance groaned. “He has a point,” he mumbled to Pidge, though he then glared at Hunk. “But Allura has been hurting Pidge. She doesn’t deserve Pidge’s forgiveness or presence.”

“My forgiveness and presence…” Pidge muttered to herself with wide eyes directed at the back of her phone, a galaxy case. She picked up her phone and slowly tapped her screen to conduct a thorough, well-thought response.

_ Yeah, why? _

She gallantly set her phone back down.

“So?” Hunk leaned his head in with both eyebrows raised.

Pidge shrugged. “I’m not sure yet. When I get a reply, I’ll be able to say more.”

Hunk and Lance exchanged looks and shrugs. Pidge’s phone buzzed the next second, Pidge swiping her phone from the table and checking it with sparkling eyes and a smile.

**_Allura:_ ** _ I was simply wondering! I have something specific I’d like to look over with you and my fathers are busier later in the evening so it would be easiest for you to come over right after school. _

Pidge’s smile widened.

_ Sure, sounds cool. _

“I’m going to Allura’s house right after school,” Pidge announced as she set her phone back down.

Lance and Hunk’s jaws dropped. Pidge sat there with a smug look as both of them began shooting questions at her. She felt pretty good right then. Not only did she have Hunk and Lance fussing over her, which was always amusing, but she also had Allura wanting her company. It was a nice feeling.

 

Pidge sat on the bench the set of doors near the library, where she had agreed to meet Allura. School had let out five minutes ago, and Pidge was getting anxious about the lack of Allura in sight. She thought back to Saturday and chemistry class. Pidge though Allura had maybe run off with Plaxum, forgetting about Pidge’s existence. Or, Allura had simply forgotten about her. She didn’t have much hope for herself at the moment, and her thoughts didn’t make waiting for Allura any easier. She continued turning her phone on and off to check the time, the minutes seemingly taking a millennium to pass. After two minutes of continuously turning her phone on and off, Allura stepped out the doors.

“I’m so sorry I’m late,” Allura greeted with a smile. “I had to talk to Plaxum quickly before leaving. Are you ready to go? My dad is already here.”

Pidge’s heart sank at the mention of Plaxum, but she simply nodded with a blank face, standing up. “Which dad?” she asked as she followed Allura into the parking lot.

“Coran. Usually we refer to Alfor as father, while Coran we refer to as dad,” Allura explained.

Allura stopped at a car, opening a door and hopping in. Pidge blinked, shrugged to herself, and hopped in the back.

“Hello, ladies! How are you this fine afternoon?” Coran beamed from the driver’s seat, turning to give Pidge a smile.

Pidge grinned in return. “Good, thank you. How about you, Mr…” Pidge found herself pulling a blank. She didn’t really know Allura’s last name.

“Mr. Zarkon or just simply Coran are both fine! No need for any formality here unless it makes you more comfortable, Miss Pidge.” Coran seemed to be a sun, and Pidge was again reminded where Allura got her brightness from.

The car ride mainly consisted of Allura and Coran talking about school and how it was going for Allura. Pidge shyly stayed quiet in the back. The only people’s parents she had been driven by before were Lance’s and Hunk’s over the summer when they went out the three of them constantly. Allura didn’t anything to Pidge when they got into the house, either. All that was exchanged when they got into the house was Allura and Coran winking at each other before Allura made her way upstairs. Allura didn’t say anything until they got to her room. A small circular table was set up in front of a television while there were bean bag chairs out and Allura’s bed had been shifted to the corner of the room. Posters and various small paintings gave the walls character.

“Take a seat at the table. It will make studying easier,” Allura encouraged, putting her backpack on a standing coat hanger near the door.

“When did you redo your room?” Pidge asked, setting her stuff down and taking a seat in a beanbag chair.

“My fathers and I agreed that it would be best to unpack everything from my old room sooner rather than later, so we resituated my bed and added in my old furniture and decorations.” Allura sat down in the other beanbag chair, placing some papers and textbooks on the table. She turned to Pidge with a grin. “Do you like it?”

Pidge nodded with a grin, taking another look around. A knock came on the open door, Coran stepping in with a bowl of popcorn and placing it on the table. “Enjoy, ladies!” he exclaimed with a wink before disappearing.

Pidge looked to Allura with a puzzled look. Allura already had the television remote in her hand, pressing away to get the television to turn on and a DVD player whirring as it started up as well.

Pidge grinned awkwardly. “Uh, Allura? What are you doing?”

Allura giggled, giving a sly smile with a quick glance. “This is what I wanted to look over with you.”

The menu screen of the Voltron movie’s DVD showed up.

Pidge’s heart nearly jumped as she started to laugh. “You want to watch Voltron?”

Allura looked at her with a blank expression. “Is that alright?”

Pidge kept lightly laughing and smiling. “Yeah, that’s great. I just wasn’t expecting that from you.”

“I remember you mentioning it,” Allura elaborated as she pressed  _ PLAY _ . “I had asked my father to buy it on DVD when you had first told me about it, but I forgot to watch it with you. Lance mentioning it today sparked my memory, so I thought watching it before studying tonight would be pleasant.” She spoke over the beginning music to the movie, staring at the television while Pidge kept her eyes planted on Allura.

Pidge grinned. “It was a nice surprise. Thanks.” Pidge grabbed the bowl of popcorn. “And this? This is all mine.” She took a handful and plopped it in.

“Oh, not fair! That was for both of us!” Allura whined, reaching over to take it, though Pidge averted her by moving the bowl as far over as she could.

“I was a rotten egg, but you were a rotten egg squared, remember?” Pidge shoved another handful in, chewing while talking. “I earned this.”

“No you did not!” Allura laughed as she reached for the bowl again, Pidge averting again. They played this game laughing over the movie, finally Allura snatching the bowl after a couple of tries. She placed the bowl in between the beanbag chairs. “This is where is it staying. It is to  _ share _ ,” she sternly made clear, though she and Pidge both broke out laughing again.

“You’ll need to restart,” Pidge stated after swallowing some more popcorn. “The first scene is very important.”

“Really? Alright.” Allura did so, stuffing her own face with popcorn. She spoke over the beginning music again. “You seemed down on Saturday and this morning, so I thought this might help cheer you up.” She looked to Pidge, her blue eyes swirling with concern. “Is everything really alright?”

Pidge nodded, taking a second to take a breath as though she were thinking over what was plaguing her. In actuality, she was thinking up a lie to cover up her love-life struggles. “My brother and I had a fight over text, and I don’t get to see him until he gets time since he’s in college. I’ve been feeling bad about it. That’s all.” She gave Allura a grin. “Really.”

Allura grinned, too. “I’m sure you will find a way to patch things up. I believe in you, Pidge.”

Pidge’s stomach filled with butterflies as her chest filled with lava. A truly great, totally comfortable feeling that was exactly what she needed while trying to just think of Allura as being a friend.

It was absolutely  _ not  _ what she needed.

Despite Pidge’s heart racing and stomach turning, she exchanged one last grin with Allura before paying attention to the movie.


	16. "Annoying Thing numbers 1 and 2."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoops a day late because we found a lost dog yesterday so i couldn't write the whole chapter while searching for the owner and taking care of the dog  
> but here we go!! chapter 16 whoo  
> for this chapter the song is "Venus" by Sleeping At Last

“Thanks for the ride!” Pidge called as she hopped out of Coran’s car.

“Not a problem! You can count on us for a ride anytime,” Coran replied with a smile.

“Thank you for all the help today, Pidge.” Allura gave a smile from the back of the car.

Pidge grinned. “Not a problem.” Both she and Allura exchanged a giggle before Pidge shut the car down and skipped up to her front door.

“Hey, mom! I’m home!” Pidge called as she stepped into the house.

Her mom poked her head out from the kitchen. “Hey, honey! How was your time with Allura?”

“Great! We watched Voltron,” Pidge beamed. Her mom raised an eyebrow. “And ate dinner. Then we studied.”

The raised eyebrows turned into a grin. “Well, you seem much happier than you’ve been for the last few days.”

Pidge’s cheeks burned, and she averted her eyes from her mother’s. “Y-Yeah… I still have homework to do though, so… I’m going to head upstairs.” Pidge ran off upstairs awkwardly while her mom laughed and went back to whatever she was doing.

Pidge sighed as she pushed her bedroom door open, closing behind herself right away and walking over to her desk. She sat down and took some unfinished work out, though she couldn’t focus. A name kept interfering with her focus.

_Matt._

Pidge sighed again and got up. She ran downstairs to find her mom had made brownies and was sitting in front of the television.

“Hey, I made brownies. You want one?” Her mom turned in her chair to face Pidge and held a square out to her.

Pidge took it with a grin. “Thanks.” She wolfed it down, more eager to talk than eat brownies, which showed in her serious expression. “So, uh, do you have any idea when Matt’s next open weekend is?”

Her mom shrugged. “I haven’t heard anything from him about when he plans to visit. Why don’t you text him?” she suggested with a smile.

Pidge nodded. “Yeah. Thanks, mom.”

Pidge rushed back upstairs, though she stopped halfway up and came back down. She ran over to her mom, gave her mom a kiss on the cheek, and ran away again, calling, “I love you, mom!”

“I love you too, Katie,” her mom called back.

Pidge grinned and re-entered her room, picking up her phone off her desk and immediately texting Matt.

_Hey, when do you next have a free weekend?_

**_Asshole of a Brother:_ ** _Not for a while… I’ll visit as soon as I can, Katie, don’t worry about it._

_Don’t call me Katie._

**_Asshole of a Brother:_ ** _It seemed appropriate._

_You’re the one who introduced me to Voltron and gave me the nickname in the first place!_

**_Asshole of a Brother:_ ** _Yeah, I guess I did._

Pidge groaned, though she couldn’t help but giggle at her brother’s annoyingness.

_I miss you Matt._

**_Asshole of a Brother:_ ** _I miss you too. I’ll be home asap._

_You better be._

Pidge put her phone down and flopped down onto her bed, no longer worrying about her homework. She then remembered a small festival was coming up, one that she and Matt had deemed routine as kids. Matt had missed it the year before, which meant Pidge had dirt on him.

_The winter festival is this Sunday. You better be here._

**_Asshole of a Brother:_ ** _What??_

 **_Asshole of a Brother:_ ** _You’re telling me six days in advance and expect me to be able to clear my schedule? I’m supposed to work Sunday…_

_Figure it out for yourself. You’re going to be here and that’s final. Love you._

**_Asshole of a Brother:_ ** _You’re just like a pigeon. Annoying and in everyone’s way._

_You wouldn’t take me any other way, though, would you?_

**_Asshole of a Brother:_ ** _No, I wouldn’t. I love you, Pidge_

_I love you too Matt_

_If anything, just be here for Sunday afternoon so we can at least go for a bit._

**_Asshole of a Brother:_ ** _I’ll try my best._

 **_Bitch_ ** **_to Voltron Club™:_ ** _sooo how was allura’s?_

Pidge groaned at Lance suddenly texting her in a group chat. The group chat consisted of her, Lance, and Hunk. She also groaned at Lance asking about Allura’s. It awoke the butterflies in her stomach and made her cheeks burn again.

 **_Bitch_ ** **_to Voltron Club™:_ ** _pidge???_

She opened up the chat to avoid her home screen being spammed.

 **_Cookie Monster:_ ** _oh yeah! how did it go, Pidge?_

Pidge also groaned at Hunk joining in.

_I’m changing both of your contacts to Annoying Thing numbers 1 and 2._

**_Bitch:_ ** _why wouldn’t you have our contacts as nicknames though??_

 **_Bitch:_ ** _you’re lesbean in my phone hm p h_

 **_Cookie Monster:_ ** _Lance is losershooter in mine because of that one time in gym_

_You mean when he couldn’t get a single basket during a free-shoot day?_

**_Cookie Monster:_ ** _yep, that_

 **_Bitch:_ ** _you’re both so mean_

 **_Bitch:_ ** _in my phone you’re hunk of a monk in my phone and then im losershooter in yours_

 **_Bitch:_ ** _i’m insulted_

_I’m changing his to Losershooter too_

**_Cookie Monster:_ ** _I support your decision, Pidge_

 **_Bitch:_ ** _NO DONT_

_Done._

**_Losershooter:_ ** _WHY MUST YOU DO THIS TO ME_

 **_Cookie Monster:_ ** _we should all have our nicknames as contacts_

 **_Cookie Monster:_ ** _that’s fair_

 **_Losershooter:_ ** _fine i’ll change yours to something mean then_

 **_Losershooter:_ ** _now you’re sunshine bear, like a care bear. in other words your encouragement is annoying_

 **_Cookie Monster:_ ** _I’m not sure how to feel about this_

_Guys, settle, it’s just contacts_

**_Losershooter:_ ** _that coming from YOU_

_Okay I’m too tired for this. Goodnight_

**_Losershooter:_ ** _oh no you don’t, you still haven’t told us about how allura’s went_

_Oh, right._

_Well surprisingly she asked me to come over right after school so that we could watch Voltron together before dinner. She liked it, so Losershooter, I guess your wish has come true and we may have an addition to our Saturday meetings._

**_Losershooter:_ ** _YES_

 **_Losershooter:_ ** _wait did she actually agree to come to the diner with us?_

_…_

_I may have forgotten to ask that specifically…_

**_Losershooter:_ ** _well then do that!! then we can have another member_

 **_Cookie Monster:_ ** _that would be so cool! Allura seems like a nice addition to the group_

 **_Cookie Monster:_ ** _please ask her Pidge! don’t forget and don’t chicken out!_

_Yeah yeah, whatever. Now seriously I have homework that needs finishing before I sleep so I’ll be back in an hour or so_

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ok, ttyl_

 **_Cookie Monster:_ ** _talk to you later Pidge!_

Pidge put her phone down on her bed and returned to her desk, finishing her work within half an hour and heading off to take a shower. Everything felt like a blur. All she could think about for the hour away from her phone ended up being Allura—Allura this, Allura that, Allura everything, Allura anything. Pidge was a mess. But she also felt odd about her feelings, just as she had come to a conclusion of a few days before. She didn’t know Allura too well, so how could she have feelings for her? Looks weren’t enough to adore someone in Pidge’s opinion. So what was so magical about Allura?

She flopped down onto her bed with her hair up in a towel and her pajamas on, taking her phone with a sigh, ready to end the day. She opened the group chat.

_I’m really worn out so I’m heading to bed. Goodnight guys, see you tomorrow_

**_Losershooter:_ ** _see you tomorrow!!_

 **_Cookie Monster:_ ** _goodnight!_

She then texted Matt goodnight, and then landed on her texts with Allura. She sat there, debating whether or not to text Allura goodnight. She took a deep breath, thinking of something to use as an excuse to text Allura.

_Hey, so, did you really like Voltron? You don’t have to be nice and pretend you like it if you don’t._

**_Allura:_ ** _No no, I really enjoyed the movie! Thank you for watching it with me!_

_Oh, good!_

_So, uh, Lance, Hunk, and I have this group we call the Voltron Club as a joke, but we go to a diner every Saturday. We usually talk about Voltron related things or just, you know, eat and talk. We were wondering if maybe you’d join?_

Allura took a moment to respond. The moment was heart-wrenching for Pidge, worrying about phrasing things weirdly or coming off as creepy or anything of the sort. Her stomach knotted itself and her skin burned. Pidge was extremely relieved when the nerve-wracking moment was over.

 **_Allura:_ ** _That sounds delightful! I would love to!_

Pidge lit up with a bright smile.

_Awesome!_

_I’m going to sleep now. See you tomorrow! Goodnight!_

**_Allura:_ ** _Goodnight!_

Pidge went back to the group chat.

_Allura agreed to going to Saturday meetings. Thought I’d tell you before I forget._

**_Losershooter:_ ** _YES_

 **_Losershooter:_ ** _YESSSS_

_Jeez. Calm down, Lance._

**_Cookie Monster:_ ** _I’m glad she agreed!_

_Okay, now for real, night guys_

Pidge put her phone on her bedside table and looked at her ceiling. She smiled at her stars, whispering, “Goodnight, dad.” She turned over and shut her eyes.


	17. "Says you, Lesbean."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> song: Clouds by Before You Exit

“Dad…”

His hazy figure stood in the distance, giving a wave without looking back as he walked further and further toward a white ship in a white room. “I’ll be back soon.”

“Dad, no.”

He kept walking until he stopped at the bottom of the steps up into the ship. He stepped in and disappeared. Everything disappeared. Everything went black. After a second of feeling as though there was no air to breathe and no blood to pump, a screen showed up in a dark room. The room was filled with people, all working at dimly lit computers and talking to each other. On the screen was the ship, with the astronaut speaking to the team that the whole room could hear. Matt’s blurry figure was standing on the side, giving a grin. “Good work. They’ve gotten farther than ‘97 did.”

Suddenly the screens all went red. The ship disappeared from the screen, and the screen went black.

“No!” Pidge screamed, sitting up in bed suddenly, sweating and panting.

Her bedroom door whipped open, her mom standing in the doorway with wide eyes. “Are you okay?”

Pidge took a deep breath, pulling her knees to her chest under her blanket. She stared at the blanket instead of her mother as she tried to calm her racing heart and burning nerves. She gave a slow nod as she recollected herself. “Just… A nightmare,” she choked. “About dad.”

Her mom gave an apologetic look, coming over and sitting down with Pidge. She rubbed Pidge’s back but said nothing for a solid few seconds, giving Pidge more time to calm down.

“How about I make pancakes?” her mom offered.

Pidge looked to her mom with a small, calm grin. “That would be great.”

Her mom grinned in return and got up. Before she left, Pidge blurted, “Thanks, mom.”

“I haven’t even made them yet,” her mom laughed.

Pidge simply continued grinning at her mom. Her mom went downstairs, leaving the door open behind herself. Pidge got out of bed and hopped in the shower, trying to rinse herself of her nightmare. Then again, it was difficult to wash out nightmares made of memories.

Pidge got ready for school, putting her backpack together before heading to the kitchen. If it was just her and her mom after a nightmare, Pidge typically sat at the center island in the kitchen to eat. The two stayed silent as breakfast was served and eaten, as well as while Pidge was driven to school. It was what Pidge needed while feeling so off. Pidge didn’t say a word until she opened the car door in front of the school.

“Thanks for the ride, mom.” She grinned.

Her mother beamed. “No problem, Katie. Call me if you need anything.”

“I will.” Pidge nearly closed the door all the way before hesitating and deciding to quickly add, “I love you, mom.”

“I love you too. Now get going, you’re going to be late!” her mom insisted with a laugh.

Pidge smiled and closed the door, turning away from the car and heading into the school. Her mom always knew how to make her feel better after her nightmares. After all, she’d been having those nightmares for over a year.

It was Tuesday, but it felt exactly like a Monday, all groggy as zombies walked the halls and sat in classes. No one wanted to be there with the gray clouds outside. For Pidge, history was a bore, unsurprisingly. Though, it was harder to get through than usual. Unfortunately, Pidge’s teacher was a childhood friend, and her brother’s best friend. Having a childhood friend who had worked with her father at one point didn’t exactly help her feel better after her nightmare.

Halfway through class, Pidge got a paper airplane to the side of her head, thrown by Hunk sitting right next to her. Thrown wasn’t exactly the right word. It was more putting the tip to the side of Pidge’s head and then letting go so it fell onto Pidge’s arm. Pidge gave him a look, taking the airplane and opening it up as the teacher droned on and the class snored.

**_Are you okay? You don’t seem okay. Do you need a hug?_ **

Pidge snorted at the paper, folding it in half and nodding before looking up at Hunk. She whispered, “I’m okay. I had a nightmare that was… unsettling, to say the least.”

Hunk squinted. “Sooo, do you want a hug or not?”

Pidge snorted again, nodding. She knew Hunk wanted to hug her since it always made him feel better about other people feeling down. Hunk gave her a big squeeze and went back to the silence. Pidge and Hunk then both looked to the side at a quiet Lance focusing on the teacher and tapping a pen against the side of his face. Pidge looked to Hunk, Hunk giving a small shrug with a concerned face. Pidge punched Lance’s arm, getting a hiss out of him.

“What the hell was that for?!” he angrily whispered at Pidge.

Pidge kept a blank face and looked forward. “You were pouting. Stop being a baby.”

Lance huffed and went back to tapping the pen against his face. “Says you, Lesbean.”

“I’m going to guess the dinner didn’t go well,” Hunk jumped in.

“No, it went fine,” Lance sighed.

“Then why are you being so quiet?” Hunk questioned.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Lance shut them down sharply.

“Was Knife Boy mean?” Pidge furthered the questioning, pushing her glasses up on her nose with a glint in her eyes as she smiled to try and cheer Lance up. “If he was, Hunk and I will hack his phone from texting it.”

“You have his number?” Lance asked with a puzzled expression.

Pidge’s smile fell, her shoulders slumping as she looked away and cleared her throat. “Well, no, we’d need to get it from you… But we’ll still do it.”

Lance sighed again rather than joining in on the joke. “I’m fine.”

“You clearly aren’t fi—”

“I’m fine,” Lance repeated.

Pidge looked to Hunk for guidance. Hunk gave her a half-grin, as if to say there was nothing to do but leave Lance alone. The three sat in silence for the rest of the period, which was extremely awkward to Pidge, but she couldn’t think of anything to do for Lance. The bell finally rang, Mr. Shirogane quickly announcing the homework. Lance got up and left without a word and without waiting for Pidge and Hunk.

“I hope he’s okay,” Hunk softly commented to Pidge.

Pidge hummed in agreement as she zipped up her backpack and stood up. “I hope whatever happened resolves quickly.”

They both gave looks of agreement as they put their backpacks on and were about to head off to their tech elective when Pidge’s shoulder was tapped. Pidge turned to find Mr. Shirogane looking down at her.

“Hey, Pidge, can you stay after class?”

“Sure,” Pidge hesitantly answered. She looked at Hunk and nodded at the door. He got her message, going on ahead of her. Pidge looked back up at the teacher. “Am I in trouble again?”

Mr. Shirogane shook his head. “No, you’re not in trouble. This is from a family friend to a family friend.” He sighed. “Two weeks ago we started the space unit.”

Pidge raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, everyone knows, including me, even if it seems like no one pays attention to you in class.”

Mr. Shirogane sighed again. “Pidge, this means the Hanson-Holt expedition from last spring is coming up.”

There was a pause of silence between the two of them, everything in Pidge coming to a halt as she averted her eyes to the floor. Mr. Shirogane let out a loud exhale to break the momentary silence.

“I’ll give you an alternate assignment for the next three days. You can go sit in the library after staying for attendance and—”

“No.” Pidge clutched the straps of her backpack and gave a determined nod at her feet before lifting that determined expression towards Mr. Shirogane. “I’ll sit in class. I want to be here for it.”

Mr. Shirogane blinked at her. “Are you sure?”

Pidge gave another determined nod. “Come on, Shiro. It’s been half a year. I’ll be fine.”

Mr. Shirogane sighed. “Okay, it’s your choice.” He chuckled and ruffled her hair. “I’ll be glad to have you interrupting since we both know the textbook is inaccurate, but I can’t correct it if I want to keep my job.”

Pidge giggled, too. She grinned. “Thanks, Shiro.”

“No problem. Get to your next class on time,” Mr. Shirogane responded with a smile before walking back to the front of the room.

The weird feeling Pidge couldn’t shake in the morning was only amplified by her conversation with Shiro, and it was even further worsened by Lance’s silence in tech class, too. Lance at least help her focus on something not her father. She got to worry about him instead, but then again, she was still worrying about something and couldn’t shake the weird feeling.

The weird feeling continued through third period as well. Pidge was immensely worried, not being able to pay attention in class since she wasn’t sitting next to Lance; Lance wasn’t even in the room, so she couldn’t watch him from afar, either. It gave her time to think of something to cheer Lance up, at least, and she did think of something. It was mediocre and something she didn’t realize she had that morning, but she knew it would mean something to Lance.

Finally the bell rang to end third period and Pidge rushed over to the chemistry classroom. Lance was sitting down as she ran through the door. Seeing Lance again brought a grin to her face. She went and sat down in her seat, immediately taking her lunchbox out of her backpack and opening it. She took out a container with two brownies in it that her mom had packed her as a surprise that morning. She grinned at Lance and held the container out to him. “Here, you have these.”

Lance nearly teared up as he smiled. He took the container gleefully. “Thank you so much, Pidge!”

Pidge shrugged as she watched him take one out and take a bite. “You always give me cookies when I’m down. I’m simply returning the favor.”

Lance was too busy enjoying the brownies to respond to Pidge, humming to himself as he finished one brownie. He then beamed at Pidge, “These are great! Did you make them?”

Pidge shook her head. “Mom did. I think I’d burn the house down if I tried to make them…”

That got a laugh out of Lance, which relieved Pidge.

Lance closed the brownies container and looked at Pidge again. “I heard Mr. Shirogane held you after class,” Lance teased with a hinting smirk. Pidge’s brownies had brought Lance back to normal.

“He asked if I wanted an alternate assignment since we’re going to be talking about my dad’s expedition soon,” Pidge simply answered, looking forward. She saw Allura and Plaxum gushing over each other in the front of the room. Not exactly what she needed right then on top of everything the day had already brought on her. She decided looking at Lance was better, even if she wanted to avert her eyes for the conversation she knew was coming.

“Did you take it?” Lance asked.

Pidge shook her head.

“What?!” Lance exclaimed, nearly getting out of his seat. He gripped the sides of his desk as he leaned over with an amazed expression, but not a normal, good sort of amazed expression. “Why not?!”

Pidge shrugged, finding her gaze wandering back to the front of the room and cringing at the faces Allura and Plaxum were making. She huffed and looked back to Lance again. “I don’t want to sit out. I should be able to handle talking about it already.”

“It’s only been half a year! This could _damage_ you!” he yelled, bolting out of his seat as he noted that it could damage Pidge.

The entire class went quiet, all eyes on the two in the back. Lance and Pidge awkwardly stared back at the class. Lance slumped back down into his chair with a blank face. Pidge awkwardly smiled and laughed while rubbing the back of her neck, looking down at her desk as Lance began to whistle. The class slowly looked away and raised its volume again. Pidge gave Lance a deadly stare. “Quiet down.”

“But this could seriously damage you! You can’t do this!” Lance continued, throwing his hands up in the air before crossing them across his chest.

Pidge sighed. “Lance, I’ll be fine.”

“No, you won’t!” Lance argued.

“I will,” Pidge ensured.

“But Pidge,” Lance began again, but the second bell cut him off.

“Alright everyone, settle down,” the teacher called.

“I promise, I’ll be fine,” Pidge assured in a whisper.

Lance sighed. “Says you, Lesbean,” he repeated from history.

Pidge groaned and sunk down in her seat. Both of them looked forward and said nothing more. Pidge didn’t want to deal with Lance and his ridicule while she was telling him she would be fine. Though, looking forward wasn’t great, either. With the nightmare, Shiro’s little ‘talk,’ and Lance’s idiocy, Pidge didn’t appreciate being forced to watch Allura drool over Plaxum.

Pidge was left with a bitter feeling for the day.


	18. "You watch me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soooooo surprise!!  
> for one, i finally finished the entire outline for mll and sooo secondly, starting today i'm going to update THREE!! chapters at a time. this way you know hopefully the other two thirds of the story won't take as long to update  
> so there will be three updates today (it's midnight it's technically thursday no one can tell me otherwise) bringing us to chapter 20 and meaning mll is officially a third done omgggg  
> i'm so excited
> 
> anyway this chapter's song is "Beautiful Lies" by Birdy  
> enjoy!!

“Good morning, class,” Shiro yawned.

Everyone groaned. Wednesday morning was also stormy, which was putting everyone in a bad mood and back to sleep.

“If you recall, we started this unit by having our dear Pidge take all of class talking about the Hanson-Holt expedition of ‘97. Well, today we’re going to  _ briefly _ ,” Shiro eyed Pidge, “revisit the expedition and then continue along the timeline.”

Pidge, surprisingly, was too tired and out of it to interrupt at all during class. She had spent the night looking at conspiracy theory after conspiracy theory, which she yawned to Lance when he questioned her eyebags and quietness as the bell rang.

“No regrets,” she ended her story, getting up.

“Pidge.” Shiro’s voice caught Pidge’s attention. Shiro sighed with a concerned expression. “Are you sure you’re ready for tomorrow? I’m not going to force you to sit through it.”

Pidge put on the most sincere grin she could manage with her stiff face. “I’m sure.”

“What are we talking about?” Hunk questioned frankly.

“Pidge thinks she can sit through hearing about the Hanson-Holt expedition of 2017,” Lance grumbled. Everyone looked at Lance with wide eyes. He crossed his arms and cocked his chin. “I know things. I just choose to not think.”

“I’m not sure it’s a choice,” Pidge said with a blank face, attempting to make everyone joke around and distract them from the original subject.

“It is,” Lance huffed. “I choose to not think and do stupid things. It’s more fun that way.” He looked down at her with a sincerely serious expression. “You, however, shouldn’t choose to be stupid and sit through class tomorrow.”

Pidge gave him a serious expression in return. “Lance, I will be fine.”

“Lance is right,” Shiro cut in.

“Pidge, you should sit this one out,” Hunk gently advised.

“You shouldn’t do this.” Lance’s stern, sure tone contrasted Hunk’s, as did his body language. His arms were simply at his side. Lance’s lack of a dramatic display showed he was as serious as it got for him.

She gave the two of them glares. “I’m ready.” She then looked at Shiro with a blank expression. “I’ll be in class tomorrow.” To prove her determination, she marched away from the three boys off to tech class.

Lance and Hunk quickly followed after. A silence sat between them for a good three seconds before Hunk sighed and Lance had an outburst.

“You’re making a mistake,” he blurted.

“This isn’t good for you,” Hunk added.

“Guys, I’ll be fine, really,” she said as gave them both grins. “I appreciate your concern, but I’ll be fine.”

“Pinky-promise?” Hunk offered his pinky with the most serious expression Pidge had ever seen him muster.

Pidge snorted and interlocked her pinky with his. “Pinky-promise.”

Despite her usual way of acting, the weird feeling from the day before still lingered in Pidge. She looked over at Lance, who simply gave her a stern glare before looking away. They got to the computer lab and Lance made a show of angrily taking his seat despite his silence, which unsettled everyone. Pidge rolled her eyes and sat down next to him.

“So,” she began as she logged herself in on her computer, “are you going to tell us what’s got you so much more emotional than usual?”

“Uh, you.” Lance stared daggers at Pidge.

Pidge rolled her eyes again. “No, there has to be something else. You wouldn’t get as worked up as you are about my situation if everything  _ else _ was normal.”

“Yeah, you’ve been acting weird today and yesterday,” Hunk pitched in.

Lance sighed, looking away from both of them. “I’m just…” Lance let out a breath and muttered, “Not sure about Keith, alright? Would you leave it alone?”

“You know we can’t do that,” Pidge said with a smirk, putting her chin on the back of her hand as her elbow was propped up on the long table.

“Why aren’t you sure about him? Didn’t the dinner go well?” Hunk asked.

Lance groaned. “I already told you, the dinner went fine. I just… haven’t been in a serious relationship. It’s scary, I guess.” Lance still avoided their eyes as he spoke, logging himself in on his computer.

Hunk let out a sigh this time, logging himself in. “I can understand that. I mean, I’m scared of just being alone with Shay—I can’t even be around her without making a fool of myself!” He laughed, embarrassed, and gave Lance a smile. “You’re doing great. Don’t you agree, Pidge?”

Something about the conversation struck Pidge. She wasn’t sure of herself when it came to Allura. but she loved being around Allura. So in a sense, she sat in a boat in between Hunk’s and Lance’s situations. She gulped the striking feeling away and nodded. “Absolutely.” She sighed, deciding it would be better to be honest than be a dick to Lance, as much as she would have liked to be. “I’m not sure I  _ can _ love, but Allura’s so entrancing. But then again, she loves Plaxum, and I’m not sure I’m ready to try relationships.” She lost every ounce of joy in her body saying aloud that Allura loved Plaxum, but she brushed it aside and grinned at Lance. “I think you’re going great so far, too.” She smirked, deciding to pick on Hunk instead. She stared at Hunk directly as she commented to Lance, “At least you’re talking to the person you’re interested instead of avoiding them.”

Hunk turned red as a beat. “H-Hey! Why did you have to go and say that?” he sputtered in mumbles.

Lance laughed. Pidge pointed a finger at Lance while still staring at Hunk and realization swept over Hunk’s face. He gave Pidge a little nod and a grin.

Mr. Ulaz cleared his throat from the front of the room. Everyone loved Mr. Ulaz, so he could simply clear his throat and the entire class would give their total attention to him. Of course, Pidge’s attention was ever so slightly drawn to the long, silver braid sitting two rows ahead today: seats weren’t assigned in tech, so Pidge, Lance, and Hunk sat in the same place every class by choice. They liked placing themselves far enough away from the front to not draw too much attention but also didn’t sit in the back to seem like they were always paying attention and weren’t making trouble in class.

Pidge looked to Hunk, who was grinning and paying attention, and then to Lance, who was grinning but was playing online computer games discreetly. Everything was calm, which made Pidge calm.

That calmness only lasted until chemistry class since chem made anger boil her blood.

At least in tech class she didn’t have to watch Allura drool over Plaxum from the back of the room.

“Hey, at least they aren’t making out in class,” Lance commented to her with a sly smirk.

Pidge groaned and rolled her eyes. Chem was spent angrily watching Allura and Plaxum exchange glances and stare at each other when the other isn’t looking. So was lunch. So was gym class, which Pidge had been unlucky enough to have Allura transfer into for god knew why. Pidge thought maybe the heavens were punishing her for something she’d done. Something like a family matter.

Everything in her stopped.

And a volleyball flew straight past her.

“Hey! What are you  _ doing?! _ You were supposed to send that back!” Lance flailed his arms as he scolded her from the other side of the net.

“Oh, uh,” Pidge glanced behind herself at the ball now sitting by the wall. “Sorry!” she called before turning and getting the ball. She went back to her spot and sent it back.

She glanced to the side as Lance proceeded to yell at Hunk for not bumping Pidge’s serve. Plaxum and Allura were a few courts over on Lance’s and Hunk’s side, so it was easy for Pidge to watch them. They were a great team, both clearly athletic. They shared a high-five and giggles, though Pidge couldn’t make out what they were saying.

The ball flew past Pidge again. Both she and Hunk got an earful from Lance. The earful didn’t stop at the end of class, though. They heard about it in game club, too.

“The ball flew straight past your head twice!  _ Twice! _ ” Lance exclaimed.

Pidge groaned and sunk in her seat. She didn’t care about anything Lance had to say about gym. All she could think about was how out of Allura’s league she was. She simply let out a breath sharply and continued only using one hand to click her mouse, playing a simplistic, mindless game rather than her usual intense games.

Suddenly, silence surrounded her. She immediately noticed Lance and Hunk weren’t talking, so she looked up, not caring whether the game was paused or not.

“As Mr. Shirogane said,” Hunk quietly spoke up, “are you sure you’re going to be okay?” Pidge’s entire face dropped, so Hunk added, “Sure-sure?” Pidge gave him a nod to which he smiled.

Lance clicked his tongue. And that did it for Pidge.

Pidge shot up from her seat and snatched her bag off the floor. Before she headed for the door, she swung her backpack over one shoulder and stared at Lance, who was looking up at her with narrowed eyes.

“You watch me.”

She walked off without letting either boy respond. She shoved the back door of the school open only to find Allura and Plaxum sitting on a bench, looking at a chemistry textbook together and talking with their heads together. Literally. As if fate had anything but torture in store for Pidge. Pidge couldn’t help but stare from a distance. After a moment of bubbling blood burning under Pidge’s skin, Allura suddenly lifted her eyes and hers met Pidge’s. Butterflies reawoke in her stomach. Their gaze locked for a few seconds, Allura for once having a blank expression. Allura then frowned, Pidge raising an eyebrow at her. Allura looked down. Pidge huffed to herself and continued walking, taking her phone out of her pocket and calling her mom.

“Hey, sweetie!” her mom chirped.

“Hey,” Pidge responded sharply as she made her way through the parking lot towards a tree, which sat by the edge of the school’s soccer fields on the other side of the lot.

“How was school?”

Pidge groaned as she crossed the lot. “It was all over the place.”

“Ah. Want to talk about it when you get home?”

“No, it’s okay. It’s just petty drama,” Pidge lied. “It’s nothing unusual.” Pidge made it to the other side, stepping up onto the curb and taking a few more steps before plopping herself down onto the grass under the tree.

“Well, it’s unhealthy to not have drama in your life,” her mom joked. There was a pause. “So, what were you calling for?”

“Can you pick me up?”


	19. "Thank you, Pidge."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> song: "Look After You" by Aron Wright

Finally Pidge’s mom’s car pulled into the parking lot. At least, to Pidge, it felt like she’d waited well over an hour, when it had only been just over ten minutes. The car stopped in front of her. Pidge walked around and hopped into the passenger seat.

“So, spill the beans,” her mom suddenly said when Pidge shut her door. She started driving again. “What’s the petty drama?”

Pidge sighed. “Lance is being weird, mostly.” That’s all Pidge could manage to say.

Her phone buzzed.

**_Allura:_ ** _ Hey, I’m sorry to ask on such short notice, but would it be possible for you to come over early today? I need to talk to you. _

“Shit,” Pidge muttered under her breath as her heart began racing and her stomach twisted and her nerves became needles. The message didn’t say what Allura wanted to talk about, but Pidge could only conclude one thing: she had been found out.

“Hm?” her mom questioned.

“Just more drama,” Pidge groaned. She stayed torn, staring at the message. She thought she should go since Allura claimed to need her, but then again, if Plaxum were there and it was to talk about Pidge’s interest in Allura, she wanted to make up an excuse and not show up in the first place.

“Whatever it is, you should do the right thing,” her mom parented.

Pidge sucked in a breath.

“Actually, mom, can you drop me off at Allura’s?”

Her mom grinned. “Absolutely.”

Before Pidge’s nerves knew it, she was already standing at Allura’s door. She lifted her hand, but paused an inch away from the door. She took a breath and put her hand to the door four times.

Extremely loud, rapid footsteps could be heard through the door. Allura nearly pulled the door off its hinges opening it. Without any words, Allura grabbed Pidge’s wrist with a firm, but not harsh, grip and pulled her into the house. Pidge was dragged upstairs and into Allura’s room, Allura letting her go after practically throwing Pidge into her room and slamming her door shut behind them. Allura took heavy and quick breaths while staring Pidge down, which Pidge was honestly creeped out by. Pidge didn’t know how to take anything, so she did her usual; she raised an eyebrow and let her backpack slide off her shoulder onto the floor next to the beanbag behind her.

“I don’t know what to do,” Allura breathily slurred, talking way too fast in a low tone. “I don’t know. I just don’t know.” Allura continued to hyperventilate with dreading eyes and a frown.

Pidge bent down and grabbed her backpack, moving over to the other beanbag—the one furthest from the door—and sitting down. She patted the beanbag closest to the door in a silent request for Allura to sit with her at the short table. Allura took a slow breath and walked over, sitting down. Neither of them said anything for a second.

“So,” Pidge broke the silence, “what’s got you so…  _ this? _ ”

Allura sighed, pulling her knees to her chest and burying her face in her hands. “Plaxum. It’s been a week. You’d think I could feel  _ something _ more than admiration at this point, but…” Tears dribbled down Allura’s wrists.

Pidge gulped but sucked in a breath and did what she knew she should. She softly put a hand on Allura’s back and began rubbing, trying to comfort Allura as she continued to cry.

“Lots of people date based on appearances and what’s on the surface.” Allura sniffed, taking her hands away from her face to wipe them on her shirt and then wipe the tears off of her cheeks. Pidge continued rubbing her back as she took a second to collect herself. She sighed, nearly whispering, “I’m not sure that type of dating is meant for me.”

Pidge could easily relate, and her heart sank further in her chest than it already had from seeing Allura cry. Her interest in Allura was mainly based on surface appearances. She couldn’t help but start feeling the need to reevaluate herself, but she shoved the feeling down into the pits of hell for the time being. She needed to support Allura.

Pidge nodded, even though Allura was set on her staring at her knees. Pidge stayed quiet for Allura, letting Allura have a moment.

Allura sniffled as she wiped one eye again, whispering, “I don’t know what to do.” She shifted in her seat, moving the slightest bit closer to Pidge. She put her head on Pidge’s shoulder, seeing as when they were sitting, they were close enough in height for that to be possible. Allura sniffled again. “Is this okay?”

Pidge nodded and paused before saying anything as Allura hummed and then sniffled some more. Pidge hesitated, but she decided to put a hand in Allura’s hair and gently ran her fingers through it to try and comfort her. She made sure to speak gently and without any quake in her voice. “I think you should come clean with Plaxum. If you feel you’re better off as friends, it’s not right to stay in the relationship.” Pidge sighed. “But, that’s all the advice I can give you. I’m not exactly an expert on love…”

“Thank you, Pidge,” Allura hummed in response.

Pidge watched as Allura shut her eyes and grinned. It was a moment Pidge felt her heart explode in. She was  _ comforting _ Allura, with a hand in her hair and a shoulder being used as a rest for her head. This was the closest they’d been. They hadn’t even hugged. This for sure made Pidge’s heart pump faster than it healthily should. But, she didn’t feel butterflies; she felt relief and joy. Both feelings came from seeing Allura relaxed and feeling okay after crying.

Allura rested for another few seconds before sitting up straight and grabbing her phone. “I’ll text her right now and explain anything. Then can we work on math a little?” She gave Pidge a smile.

Despite the semi-smeared makeup and the puffy eyes, Allura was still as stunningly beautiful as ever when she smiled. Pidge couldn’t help but smile back.

“Absolutely.”

Pidge got up and grabbed Allura’s math textbook, placing it on the table and sitting back down on the beanbag, trying to think of something to start a conversation with.

“How come I never see any of your cats?”

It was the first thing to come to her mind, and she immediately regretted blurting it.

“They’re all shy and avoid guests,” Allura simply answered, finishing her text to Plaxum and putting her phone away. She looked at Pidge with a grin. “How come I never see yours?”

Pidge’s face dropped to her stereotypical blank one. “They even avoid our family.”

Allura laughed, which made Pidge grin. She decided talking about cats wasn’t so bad if it made Allura happy.

“What are your five cats’ names?” Pidge asked, trying to make sure the grin stayed on Allura’s face.

“Well, there’s Mr. Turnip, who looks like he has a turnip-shaped bowtie on his chest since that patch is white while the rest of him is normal tabby. There’s Panda. She looks exactly like a Panda. Tom looks like Tom from Tom and Jerry in real life. Turtle is a tortoise-shell, so we thought her name being Turtle would be ironically funny. And lastly, there’s George, who we named after King George the Third since he owns the place.” Allura laughed. “They all have ridiculous names. Of course, my dad, Coran, had a say in naming every one of them.”

Pidge couldn’t help but giggle. Allura giggled along too, both of them cracking smiles.

Allura cleared her throat. “How about yours?”

“Well, my brother’s is named Shishkabob. He has three colors, which is my brother’s reasoning. Mine is named Garrison because my dad brought him home after finding him outside of his lab at G.A.S.A.” Pidge’s smile softened into a sorrowful grin, looking down at her lap rather than at Allura. “Or, what used to be his lab. He passed away last June.” Pidge took a deep breath. “So, yeah. Those are my two.”

Allura’s smile had softened as well into an apologetic grin. “I’m sorry for your loss,” Allura gently comforted.

Pidge looked back up at Allura and genuinely grinned, appreciative of Allura’s comfort. “Thanks.”

Allura’s phone buzzed. Allura sipped a breath through her teeth, taking it out of her back pocket. “Sorry, can I?” Allura asked Pidge’s permission, pointing at her phone.

“Yeah, go ahead,” Pidge shrugged. “I don’t care.”

Allura looked at the message she received. A smile blossomed, a response quickly being made. Pidge snorted at Allura’s enthusiasm, though Allura was too wrapped up in her phone to notice. Allura sent her message and put her phone away again, smiling at Pidge.

“Plaxum is fine with it! No hard feelings!” Allura squealed, then throwing her arms around Pidge.

Pidge’s heart raced again but she smiled. “I’m glad.”

Allura hummed, continuing to hug her. “Thank you, Pidge.”

Pidge hummed shortly, too. “No problem, Allura.”

Allura pulled away and resituated herself in her seat. She pulled her textbook into her lap, then looking up and giving Pidge a smile.

“Now, shall we begin?”


	20. "Let's get you home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> song: "Clouds" by Before You Exit  
> pls don't kill me for this thx

It was yet another stormy day. This morning, there was a thunderstorm. Pidge sighed and slumped into her history seat, Lance and Hunk both being oddly quiet. She shrugged it off for a second, taking out her notebook and placing it in front of her on the table. She didn’t bother taking a pencil out—the notebook was just to pretend Pidge wrote notes down in class. Pidge looked from side to side at the boys’ melancholy looks. Pidge groaned, crossing her arms on the table and resting her chin on her arms. The awkward silence continued. Pidge sighed.

“So, you’re both just going to be quiet all class?”

Lance gritted his teeth and clicked his tongue, refusing to look at Pidge. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“Come on, Pidge! You have the opportunity to skip class! With no penalties!” Hunk beamed, trying to put a fun spin on the situation. He then awkwardly added, “Isn’t that an offer you should take up?”

“Guys,” Pidge sternly scolded, glaring specifically Hunk down. “I’m all good. Stop worrying so much.” She grinned, trying to ease Hunk. She then looked to Lance, who still wouldn’t look at her.

The second bell rang, beginning the period.

“Alright everyone, settle down. We have a lot to talk about today,” Shiro announced as he got up from his desk and walked up to the Smartboard. He picked up one of the pens and glanced over his shoulder, catching Pidge’s gaze. Shiro’s face dropped in that split second before he looked away and called, “Pidge, can you turn the lights off for us please?”

“Gladly,” Pidge loudly responded, getting up and walking over to the ease with a massive smirk displayed across her face. She was going to show Shiro, Lance, and Hunk that she could handle it. “Go time,” she whispered to herself before flicking the lights off.

There was a pause of silence as Pidge made her way back to her seat in the darkened classroom. Shiro sighed as Pidge sat down, looking her straight in the eye with a frown before clearing his throat and tapping the useless end of the pen to the presentation up on the Smartboard. It displayed pictures of the 1997 ship compared to the 2017 ship, both years listed above the pictures.

“The Hanson-Holt expedition of 1997 was run by two men: Eric Hanson, a rocket scientist, and Samuel Holt, one of the most intelligent astrophysicists in the U.S.A.”

Hearing her father’s name made Pidge’s stomach drop, though she made an effort to ignore it. She was determined more than anything to prove she could handle this. There was another pause from Shiro before he continued.

“Because of the black hole miscalculation that tore apart the ship in 1997, they took an entire twenty years to continue attempting ways to maneuver around the black hole in the hopes of someday sending a manned ship out there. They consulted an outside source in January of 2017 to help calculate the parameters of black hole.”

A frog caught in Pidge’s throat, Pidge needing to swallow as her hands formed into fists and her breathing quickened.

“The Hanson-Holt expedition of 2017 began its course soon after the calculations were finalized. The ship was built with the help of both Hanson and Holt while the two men also got astronaut training. They were to be the people manning the expedition ship.”

Pidge tried her best to stop her heart from nearly jumping out of her chest with every rapid beat while suppressing tears and continuing to clench her fists harder and harder.

“Finally, June 11th, 2017, the ship took off. It was a momentous occasion for G.A.S.A. and all of Garrison. Almost all of town showed up to watch from a hill G.A.S.A. set up for watching. With their new, faster ship, it only took them a few hours to get near the calculated parameters of the black hole.”

A single lone tear fell down Pidge’s cheek. She didn’t wipe it off. She couldn’t move her arms. Her breathing hitched, being so faint she couldn’t detect it consciously. Her throat was blocked, feeling as though no air was coming in or out. Her stomach was twisted. Her legs felt numb. Her heart physically ached as though her rib cage had become empty. Her eyes stung from holding back tears. Her head felt clouded, swelling with memories of hours spent on math, talking to her dad and talking to Matt as well as some interactions with both her dad and Mr. Hanson. All this happened as Shiro talked. Pidge couldn’t do anything but revisit the take off, where she got to stand in the building with her mom and brother to watch from the control room. She spent the rest of the day in the control room, Matt standing with her the whole time. She remembered what every inch of the control room looked like, all of the yelling back and forth between people in the room, all of the flashing images on the big screen of what was going on in the ship. She remembered how big of a smile her dad held as he spoke from in the ship.

Everything just seemed to stop in her body as there was a moment of silence. The only thing she felt she could control was her fists, which she tightened as possible in anticipation for what was coming next.

“The calculations were wrong.”

Pidge slammed her hands down on the table and shot up out of her seat as tears gushed down her face.

She no longer had control.

“I didn’t…” she muttered to herself. She looked up at Shiro and found her heart hurting more. “I didn’t mean to!” she sobbed, the whole class hearing.

Without anyone saying a word, Hunk and Lance both stood up beside her. Pidge, without a care of what Hunk and Lance were doing, ran out of the classroom, bursting through the door and leaving it to shut itself as she practically sprinted down the hallway. She couldn’t control her sobbing whatsoever, unable to hold back noises. Arms she knew suddenly wrapped around her, bringing her to a halt.

“It’s okay.” Lance spoke with the most gentle tone she had ever heard from him as he held her.

Pidge didn’t want to hear those words.

“No!” she screamed, pushing away with all of her force. She held her head as she continued to sob, shutting her eyes as tightly as possible. “It’s not okay!” she continued screaming. She had to take a moment to catch her breath before saying anything more, giving Hunk time to take his place next to Lance a few feet away from where Pidge stood now. “I killed my dad,” she whispered, taking her hands off her head and crossing them over her chest tightly. She opened her eyes and stared at her feet with clenched teeth, repeating at an audible volume, “I killed my dad.”

“No, you—” Hunk began.

“I did!” she screeched before he could say anything more, turning her angry gaze towards Lance and Hunk. “My miscalculation killed him,” she said at a normal level. “I killed him.” She coughed before she squeezed her eyes shut and screamed again, “I _killed_ him!” She then looked up at the boys again as she continued sobbing through her teeth, a light whistle coming with every intake of air to be followed by short, staggered groans of her crying.

“Hunk,” Lance simply said, Hunk quickly nodding in response and taking a step towards Pidge.

“Stay away,” Pidge growled, taking a step back with a nasty glare.

Hunk didn’t listen. He quickly caught up her to since his steps were much larger than hers, going behind her and firmly but lovingly hugging her from behind. Pidge squirmed.

“Let me go!” she screamed as Lance also approached. “Let me _go!_ ” she screamed again as Lance reached out and put a hand in Pidge’s front jean pocket, during which Pidge continued to scream, “No!” But Lance didn’t listen either. Everything became foggier and foggier with Pidge’s pounding headache, puffy face, jittering jaw, uncontrollable voice, and staggered breathing. Lance got into her phone as Hunk continued holding the squirming Pidge, then putting the phone to his ear.

“I killed him!” Pidge cried in the mess of everything, unable to focus as she stopped squirming in Hunk’s arms. She let out another sob before whispering, “I killed him,” again.

“Hi, Colleen? It’s Lance. Pidge needs to be picked up. She’s having a breakdown,” Lance spoke to the phone.

“No,” Pidge shakily whined, staring at the floor as she squirmed lightly again. “I wanted to be strong. I wanted to prove you wrong. I… I…” Pidge’s voice escalated as she spoke until she ended up in screams again, barking, “I just wanted to help my dad!” She sobbed and fell forward, practically limp, which Hunk muttered a ‘whoa’ to and made an effort to keep her up. Hunk turned her around and enveloped her, allowing her to cry into Hunk’s shirt and she continued letting out ugly sobs.

“Ten minutes? Sweet. Thanks. Sorry for the random call,” Lance spoke after Pidge’s outburst, hanging up. He shoved Pidge’s phone into his own pocket for the time being.

“What’s going on?” a voice that wasn’t Lance’s or Hunk’s asked.

“Trauma,” Hunk quickly answered.

Pidge sniffled as tears continued to come, turning her head so that her cheek was pressed against Hunk’s shirt and she could see the teacher. It was Mr. Ulaz, looking the most concerned Pidge had ever seen him. Hell, it was the most emotion she’d ever seen in his face.

“Her mom is on the way already,” Lance informed him.

Mr. Ulaz sighed as Pidge continued to noisily cry, giving an apologetic grin and putting a hand on her head. “Let’s get you to the main lobby, shall we?”

“I’ll go tell Mr. Shirogane what’s going on, grab Pidge’s stuff, and catch up with you guys,” Hunk said to Lance, Lance giving him a quick ‘okay’ before Hunk retracted his arms from around Pidge.

Pidge didn’t bother saying anything, just nodded as Hunk let go of her. Lance walked beside her with Mr. Ulaz on the other side while Hunk hurried back to Shiro’s classroom. While walking, Lance slipped a hand into Pidge’s to give silent support, which Pidge would have shown appreciation for if she weren’t still uncontrollably balling. Mr. Ulaz directed Pidge and Lance to the bench in front of the main entrance doors.

“Why don’t you wait here while I inform the main office of the situation?” Mr. Ulaz phrased it as a question but didn't mean it as a question. He walked off without a response from Lance or Pidge.

Pidge didn’t really care. She simply fell, letting her weak knees have a break while she sat on the bench and continued to cry. Thankfully, there wasn’t anyone in the lobby except her and Lance, so Pidge didn’t have to feel insecure about her echoing cries. Not that she had the energy to be insecure, anyway.

Lance sat down with her and held one of her arms while rubbing her back. Neither of them said a word. Hunk quickly joined them, Hunk sitting facing the opposite way since he was in a rush. He placed Pidge’s backpack on the floor, putting the other arm on the lower part of Pidge’s back. She got double back rubs, and double concerned looks. Hunk even got a bit teary himself.

Finally feeling a bit more at ease, Pidge pushed her glasses up and began wiping her tears with one hand. Hunk reached into his pocket and pulled out a tissue, holding it out to Pidge as she wiped away her tears. She took it and blew into it, then stuffing it into her sweatshirt pocket. Hunk pulled another tissue out of his pocket, which yet again Pidge used and then stuffed in her pocket.

Lance squinted at Hunk. “Where did all those tissues come from?”

“I took them from Mr. Shirogane’s room last second,” Hunk responded with a smile.

Pidge snorted, now being able to grin. Both Lance and Hunk grinned at her, happy to see her doing a bit better. She gave a small laugh, looking at and holding her knees. “Sorry I couldn’t do it.” She looked up at Lance with a scrunched apologetic grin as she tried holding back tears. “You were right.”

Lance put a hand on her head and ruffled her hair slowly. “It’s okay. All of it is okay.”

Lance hugged her, Hunk then joining and collectively making an ‘Emotional Bodyguard’ sandwich, which Hunk quietly made a joke about. Lance snorted and Pidge hummed as a few more tears escaped, shoving her hands in between her legs and leaning into the group hug. All of them sighed together and then laughed lightly, all relaxing a bit.

Before any of them knew it, her balling had died down to sniffles and minimal tears, Hunk and Lance still rubbing her back. And soon after that, the last tears left her dry, swollen cheeks. And soon after that, Lance and Hunk pulled away slightly, a new figure crouching down in front of her.

“Katie,” her mother whispered with a terribly saddened grin. She put her hand on Pidge’s knee and gently rubbed it with her thumb.

Her mother stood up without saying anything more, holding a hand out to Pidge. Pidge took her hand and stood up, being passed from Hunk’s and Lance’s grips to a hug from her mom.

“Thank you so much, boys,” her mother whispered to Hunk and Lance with a smile as she rubbed her child’s back.

“No need to thank us,” Lance gently responded with a small grin.

“Not at all,” Hunk added on with his own grin, picking up Pidge’s bag off the floor and holding it out.  
Her mother took her bag from Hunk while still holding her, then pulling away and looking at Pidge. Pidge looked up in return and sniffled.

“Come on,” her mother said in a calm, low tone, holding her hand out again.

Pidge took it and held her mother’s hand. Pidge quickly glanced back at Lance and Hunk, flashing them the biggest smile she could manage—which wasn’t much—as silent thanks for everything. She then looked back up at her mother, letting her face drop back into its frown. Her mother softly grinned and opened the door, the sound of rain flooding the high-ceilinged lobby.

“Let’s get you home.”

 


	21. "You're quite charming."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> do y'all just have that person who can make you feel okay about anything really quickly
> 
> song: "Where You Belong" by Kari Kimmel

Her bedside table buzzed, Pidge groaning and rolling over on her bed to lift the face of her phone off the table and see what it was. Her glasses sat beside her phone so she had to squint to see anything with her tired, watery eyes. It was currently 4:18 p.m. on Friday, December 15th, 2017. Pidge made out the contact name of the text and grumbled.

**_Allura:_ ** _ Hey! You’ve been absent for two days now, and you cancelling so early yesterday has me worried… Are you able to tutor today? I want to see you, as well as I feel left behind now. _

Pidge huffed after taking a solid seven seconds to make out the entire message. She didn’t want to respond, but she supposed responding with something short would be less rude, so she sharply responded before setting her phone back on the bedside table.

_ Busy. _

She rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling. Seeing the stars didn’t help her. She rolled onto her side, her back to the door and instead facing her phone. She was able to notice her phone light up a few seconds later, her heart somewhat hoping it was Allura calling her out on her bullshit. She sat up and tilted her head to look at her phone.

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ I’m sorry _

Lance never capitalized his I’s so Pidge was a little concerned, but at the moment she was too disappointed that it wasn’t Allura to care about anything really. She simply lay back down on her side with another sigh. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to clear her mind of the memories that were plaguing her ability to function. That was all she had had on her mind for two days. She’d been in bed for two days as a cool-off period from her break down. Her mom had even taken time off to stay home with her since her mom was so worried. Everyone was worried, but Pidge ignored all of the texts for the most part. She didn’t want to interact with anyone. Even though she was curious as to why Lance would apologize. She wondered if she was making everyone feel awful because she was avoiding conversation. She sure hoped not.

She drifted off to sleep for another half an hour until her bedroom door suddenly burst open and she nearly fell off her bed from being startled.

“What the hell?!” Pidge yelled, turning her head.

Her eyes widened as she caught the last second of Allura running to the bed before she threw herself onto it, landing on Pidge. Allura shifted so that she was spooning Pidge without any words said between them. Pidge’s heart exploded. She had to swallow and take a deep breath before being able to say anything.

“Uh, Allura?”

“Yes?” Allura answered with her warm breath faintly brushing Pidge’s neck.

Allura was at ease, but Pidge sure wasn’t.

Pidge’s stomach churned with more butterflies than she’d felt before, her face turning bright red. She choked trying to talk. “Why are you here?”

“Lance told me everything.” Allura let out a sigh, snuggling into Pidge more. “I couldn’t simply let you be.”

There was a pause, Pidge’s head too jumbled to figure out what to say as Allura ran a hand through Pidge’s hair. Pidge was enjoying the pampering—at least, she thought she was underneath all of the nervousness. She was both nervous about being touched and nervous because of Allura bursting into her room. She wasn’t over nearly falling face first to the floor. And, of course, some nervousness came simply from Allura’s presence.

“I’m so sorry about everything, Pidge,” Allura whispered to break the momentary silence. “It’s not your fault.”

Everything awkwardly giddy dropped in Pidge. Without any warning, tears began slowly rolling down onto her pillow; she still couldn’t handle being told it wasn’t her fault. She sniffled, raising a hand to wipe her tears, though Allura caught her hand and moved up on her elbow in order to loom over Pidge. Pidge didn’t know whether to be intimidated or aroused, though she quickly caved back to her crying. So she just let herself cry more. Allura gave her a look she’d never seen before. Her eyes spoke of care, her mouth spoke of nothing but a concerned frown which for Allura seemed abnormal, and her hand spoke of adoration as she wiped the tears from Pidge’s face ever so gently, even as they continued flowing. Pidge shut her eyes and let herself cry again for the seventh time in two days, this being the second time to cry in front of anyone that wasn’t her mom. Allura allowed her to turn back onto her side, though Allura stayed up on her elbow to look over Pidge’s shoulder and continue gently caressing her face to catch her tears before they fell to the pillow.   
“It’s okay,” Allura gently whispered here and there as they did this for a good four minutes.

Once Pidge’s eyes were too dry to cry anymore and she was feeling a bit better, she sat up and grabbed her phone, quickly shooting Lance a calm response conveying maturity and poise.

_ WHY THE FUCK DID YOU TELL ALLURA AAAAAA _

Pidge slammed her phone back down on her bedside table, getting Allura to jump and sit up next to her.

“Is everything alright?” Allura questioned, concerned.

Pidge turned the balls of fire, also known as her eyes, to Allura. “Yeah. Perfectly.” Pidge sniffled again, needing to rub one of her dry, itchy eyes and lost her rage.

Allura lightly giggled, running a hand through Pidge’s hair briefly as she grinned. “Even when you are devastated, you’re still silly.” Allura then sighed, smiling and pausing as her eyes wandered. Her eyes found their way back up to Pidge’s and Allura giggled again. “You’re quite charming.”

Pidge was glad her face was red and puffy from crying, because her face would have been blatantly red for other reasons if it weren’t already. She couldn’t help but grin. Who wouldn’t grin at being told they were charming?

“I’m glad I’m amusing,” Pidge awkwardly responded as she ran a pointer finger up and down her cheek, needing to avoid eye contact. Her phone buzzed, her rage immediately resurfacing as she snatched her phone up and looked at the response.

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ lmfao you’re welcome, though it’d bring you back to normal. for real though she tracked me down in school and asked what happened to you so we exchanged numbers and talked a little about it _

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ that’s why i said sorry earlier lmao _

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ she texted me she was going over _

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ i knew you’d be mad at me for telling her, but i think it’s what was best for you _

Allura hummed, not realizing Pidge was too distracted by Lance. “So, do you want to talk about what happened? Or how you’ve been in the past few days? Have you got a counsellor?”

She turned her fiery eyes to Allura. “You already knew when you texted me?”

Allura’s gentle grin became a distorted one full of guilt and held back laughter. “Sorry. I didn’t want to tell you I knew if you were doing better, because then it would have been better for you to tell me yourself. But, your harsh response made it clear you still weren’t okay, so…” Allura twiddled her thumbs as she guiltily avoided looking at Pidge and kept the distorted grin of guilt. She seemed quite childish as she talked, which Pidge found cute. In her pause, Allura’s face melted back into a gentle grin, still twiddling her thumbs but speaking more softly. “I came over as soon as one of my fathers was able to drive.”

Pidge let out a long, loud exhale while glaring Allura down. Allura looked up and cracked, no longer being able to contain some soft laughter as she fell onto her back on the bed. Allura laughing made Pidge crack, too. Pidge snorted and smiled while Allura stopped laughing and smiled as well, both of them sharing glances as Allura readjusted and held herself up on her elbow again. There was a moment of silence where Pidge was just watching Allura, who was looking at her hands again. Allura cleared her throat and looked up at Pidge. “So, are you doing a bit better now?”

Pidge nodded with a grin. “Yeah, I am.”

Allura hummed, looking away. “I’m glad.” She then got up from the bed, heading over to her backpack which Pidge hadn’t even noticed she’d had in the commotion when she came in. Allura took some papers out and came back to the bed, sitting back down and holding the papers out. “Here’s the work you missed and your homework. Lance, Hunk, and I made trips to all of your teachers to get whatever papers possible.”

Pidge smiled as she blushed from being cared about. She took the papers as she thanked Allura. Allura readjusted back onto her elbow, yet again, as Pidge flipped through all of the papers before placing them on her bedside table.

There was another bit of silence, in which Pidge noticed her butterflies were gone. She felt safe and comfortable. She looked at the silver-haired, dark-skinned angel that was resting on her bed right then and looking away, the angel that had brought her comfort after two days of complete discomfort. She sighed relaxedly, smiling. Allura looked up at her, her blue eyes glistening as she smiled at Pidge, a smile more genuinely happy than Pidge had ever seen her make before. Allura’s beauty made everything in Pidge jolt and turn red for a second, though the jolt quickly dissipated into a lighthearted warmth.

“Girls! I made cookies and lemonade if you want to come down and snack!”

Allura then smirked a little and raised her chin. “Then you may as well repay me by treating me to your mother’s acclaimed baking.”

Pidge snorted with a raised eyebrow. “And who are they acclaimed by exactly?”

“Well, Lance, of course,” Allura laughed. She jumped off of Pidge’s bed and stretched, then quickly shooting an evil smile at Pidge before dashing out of Pidge’s room and calling behind, “Last one downstairs is a rotten egg cubed!”

“Hey! You got a head start!” Pidge screamed back, hopping off her bed.

Despite knowing she was going to lose, Pidge felt exhilarated as she ran behind the blur of silver hair and giggles. Pidge herself was laughing and smiling, despite everything that had gone on and how she’d been feeling for two days. Allura seemed to be more enchanting to Pidge than ever.

And in that moment, whether Pidge knew if she simply admired or if she actually loved Allura, she was glad she didn’t have to write an apology letter.


	22. "You guys were right."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> song: "Friends" by Hedley

Pidge yawned, sitting up in bed. Her stomach immediately gurgled, getting a groan out of her as she rubbed her eyes and put her glasses on, looking at her phone.

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ yo are you coming to the diner today _

**_Allura:_ ** _ Hey! Lance told me where the diner is, so I’m going to join you guys if that’s okay…? I’d really like to spend time with you three outside of school. _

**_Cookie Monster:_ ** _ hey Pidge!! just wanted to check up on you, are you feeling any better?? I hoep you’re coming to the diner later! _

**_Cookie Monster:_ ** _ *hope _

**_Cookie Monster:_ ** _ sorry about that _

**_Allura:_ ** _ I’ve also heard about a friend that doesn’t go to our school, Keith? I’d like to meet him! _

**_Allura:_ ** _ And I haven’t gotten much time away from the house since moving here other than to be with Plaxum or have you tutor me… So I’d really like to come along… _

Pidge grinned at all of the messages, texting the group chat.

_ I’ll be at the diner in about 10-20. _

She sighed and put her phone down as she got dressed, contemplating how to respond to Allura. Allura seemed very anxious about going, which Pidge wanted to help ease, but Pidge also didn’t want it to come off as ignorant, as if she didn’t understand that Allura felt she needed permission. After brushing her hair and teeth, about ready to head out, she finally responded to Allura.

_ Hey, I would love for you to come, as would the guys I’m sure. You don’t need to worry. And you don’t need my permission to hang out with people you’d like to, especially when I’m included. I’m heading to the diner now so I’ll be there in about 10-20 minutes. See you there? _

Pidge ran downstairs, slipping her sneakers on. While she was bent over to retie them, her stomach grumbled uncomfortably, making Pidge groan at leaving without even a small snack.

Her mom laughed from behind her, coming out of the living room. “Where are you heading in such a rush?”

“I woke up late. The guys are waiting for me at the diner,” Pidge responded, followed by a yawn. She finished tying her shoes and stood up with a small back stretch, then grabbing a beige satchel-like purse to accompany her favorite simple outfit: her black G.A.S.A. t-shirt, jeans, and a bulky, blue jersey jacket that was Matt’s. Matt had  _ attempted _ football in high school; Pidge just wore some of the clothes he left in the house.

“Don’t forget to text me anywhere you go,” her mom reminded with a small laugh as she leaned against a wall.

Pidge turned to look at her mom with a smile. “I won’t.”

Her mom turned and walked back to the living room, raising her voice to call, “Have fun, sweetie! Love you!”

“Love you too!” Pidge called back as she opened the front door. She grinned to herself and shut the door behind her, stepping out into the sun.

Despite it being the middle of December, all anyone really needed was a sweatshirt to be comfortable outside. Garrison rarely got snow or low temperatures, which displeased Pidge. Pidge made it to the nearest bus stop, at the end of her street, and waited for the next bus. She had about six minutes to waste, so she played games on her phone as she waited. Somehow she wasn’t anxious about going out and having her usual calm-down time with Lance and Hunk now include Allura. As if the fates were aligned for that day, Pidge got a text back from Allura as the bus pulled up.

**_Allura:_ ** _ Wonderful! See you there! _

Pidge grinned as she put her phone back in her pocket and stepped up to the bus’ steps.

The ride was pretty boring, which was normal. The most exciting parts of the bus ride were when they came to random stops or when Pidge decided to eavesdrop. Of course, her real excitement lit up when the bus came to its closest stop in proximity to the diner. Pidge skipped off the bus and hurried down the sidewalk, excited to see Hunk and Lance. This part of town was quiet and old-timey, so the atmosphere was making her happy, too.

She opened the door to the diner, getting a little jingle of bells attached to the door as her first greeting. The first thing she noticed stepping in was Keith behind the counter, wearing a simple, white button down t-shirt and black khakis as he was checking over a few order slips and organizing money in the diner’s cash register. As she stepped in, Mrs. Nyma approached. Pidge tensed up and sucked in a breath, putting a hand beside her face to hide behind as Mrs. Nyma walked past her and out the door. Pidge let her breath do and everything in her eased, a grin making its way back onto her face. She turned her head to the right a bit and spotted Hunk, who was stuffing his face with pancakes, Lance, who unsurprisingly was googly-eyed over Keith, and Allura, who was smiling brightly and conversing with both of the guys. Pidge wasn’t sure how much of Hunk’s words Allura could understand or how much Lance registered or responded to, but seeing Allura confidently and comfortably smiling and talking while lightly spinning from side to side on one of the stools was relieving for Pidge after all of the insecure texts.

Pidge took a few steps forward, catching the eyesight of Allura, whose eyes lit up as she stopped talking and gave a wave. Pidge returned the smile and wave as she approached, simultaneous to Hunk turning around to see what Allura was waving at and immediately wolfing down the bite he had set up on his fork and standing up, shouting, “Pidge!”

Pidge laughed as Hunk ran up to her and gave her a squeeze. Lance followed, smooshing Pidge in between them like a sandwich.

“Hey, guys,” Pidge giggled.

They both pulled away to start questioning her, Lance and Hunk holding their fists up to their chests in a childishly worried manner.

“Where have you been?!” Lance screeched.

“Have you been eating?!” Hunk anxiously screeched along.

“Why didn’t respond to any of my calls or texts?!” Lance continued.

“Are you doing better?! How are you handling?!” Hunk also continued.

“Are you okay?!” they both yelled together.

Pidge couldn’t help but laugh and roll her eyes. “Guys, really, I’m fine now.”

“For real?” Lance questioned.

Pidge gave a little shrug with a grin. “I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t.”

Hunk hugged her again, this time from the side, and nearly started crying. “We were so worried!”

“Sorry,” Pidge sighed. “I shouldn’t have tried to deal with it all when I wasn’t ready. Sorry for worrying you guys.” Pidge huffed with a playful pout, then muttering, “You guys were right.”

“You should talk to Mr. Shirogane as soon as you get to school on Monday.” Lance grinned, putting a hand on her head and ruffling her hair while Hunk still clung to her side.

Pidge smiled up at him with a snort. “Wow, you being realistic for once? Are you an imposter?”

Lance’s face dropped to a frown and narrowed eyes. “That’s enough, Lesbean.”

Pidge couldn’t help but laugh. She was too happy that everything was back to normal to be mad at Lance for the nickname.

“Hey,” Keith suddenly called. Pidge’s attention turned from being happy about the guys to being interested in Keith, who was leaning on the counter near them. He was, surprisingly, grinning. “Do you want pancakes or waffles?”

Pidge smiled again. “Pancakes, please.”

Keith nodded and disappeared, allowing Pidge to return to paying attention to the guys. The guys were silent, though—Lance drooling over Keith again and Hunk too busy trying not to cry as he continued to hold Pidge. Pidge sighed and wriggled out of Hunk’s grasp, then punching Lance’s arm. “Alright, loverboy, that’s enough staring,” she said as she passed by him to go sit next to Allura.

She glanced up at Allura to find Allura staring down at her. Allura flashed a smile. Pidge simply turned red and looked away, deciding looking at the idiotic expression on Lance’s face was better than being flustered by Allura’s smile. Hunk had hold of one of Lance’s wrists, trying to drag him back to the table, but Lance wouldn’t budge or be distracted. He was practically drunk out of his mind. On love, of course.

Pidge shuddered at the thought.

Keith came over with her order of pancakes, saving her from everything, thankfully.

“That was quick,” Pidge stated with a blank expression directed at Keith so she could break the awkward silence.

Keith shrugged, sliding the plate to her. “They already had the batter ready.”

Lance slammed his hands down on the table, making Allura jump but getting her attention while he got glares from Pidge and Keith and got wide eyes from Hunk. He had a deadly serious expression displayed on his face, staring Pidge and Allura down first and then shifting to stare Keith down for a second. He finally shifted back to Pidge and Allura, Pidge then raising an eyebrow. He cleared his throat, taking his hands off the table and crossing them over his chest before declaring, “The five of us have to binge the new series when it comes out.”

Pidge’s eyes narrowed further. “ _ That _ is what you so dramatically had to get our attentions for?”

“Oh, how delightful!” Allura cut in, clapping her hands together. “That would be so much fun!”

Hunk shrugged. “I mean, sure, why not?”

Keith just rolled his eyes. Lance sat down with a content hum, though before anyone could say anything more, Keith spoke up. “I liked that Sven went missing in the comics so Princess Allure had to take his position. If they don’t have that in the show, I’m out.” Everyone stared at Keith with wide eyes, Lance even having his jaw dropped open. Keith gave them a weird look. “Why are you all staring at me?”

“You’ve read the comics!” Lance squealed with the largest smile Pidge had seen from him that morning.

Keith grinned. “You’ve read them too?”

“What fans would we be if we hadn’t read them?” Pidge pointed out with narrow eyes, as if Keith had asked a stupid question. Allura’s breath caught and then released audibly beside Pidge as she looked away from the group, bright red. Pidge’s expression scrunched, puzzled. “Hey, you okay?”

She sighed, then looking to Pidge with a grin and a giggle. “I’ve just recently watched the movie. I didn’t even know there were comics…”

Pidge couldn’t help but snort. “Don’t worry about them.” Pidge shrugged at Allura. “They’re there if you want to read them, but otherwise, you don’t have to read them to hang out with us.”

Allura smiled. “Thank you, Pidge.”

“So,” Lance suddenly spoke up, “how do you guys feel about cosplay?”

Pidge’s forehead met the counter with a shared groan between her and Keith. Hunk tilted his head with a weirded out expression. And Allura couldn’t contain her laughter.

“Cosplay? You mean dressing up for adults?”

Lance huffed defensively and crossed his arms with his chin raised high. “It’s very professional.”

Keith snorted. “Yeah, very professional,” he repeated to mock Lance.

“Hey!” Lance exclaimed as he stood out of his seat and pointed down at Keith’s shoes. “You’re still wearing the heels! You have no right to make fun of cosplay!”

Keith turned red, turning away and grumbling in mutters, “It’s not my fault they didn’t have any waiter outfit. These are my  _ own  _ clothes. I don’t have dress shoes…”

“Why would we cosplay?” Hunk whined, putting his cheek to the counter. “Aren’t names enough?”   
“I am _ not _ dressing in stupid handmade armor just for a show,” Pidge protested.

“Sorry, Lance, I think you’re out of luck,” Allura gently said before giggling some more.

Lance slumped into his seat with a pout and his arms crossed again.

“Hey, Keith!” someone yelled from the kitchen.

“Gotta go,” Keith announced before rushing away. Only then could Pidge see he was still wearing the red heels.

Allura leaned to Pidge, questioning in a low voice, “Why is he wearing heels?” She couldn’t help but continue giggling.

Pidge shrugged, her mouth scrunched. “Everyone here is weird.”

“You can say that again,” Hunk whimpered, his cheek still on the counter.

Pidge glared at him. “Would you prefer everyone calling you Tsuyoshi again?”

Hunk averted his gaze. “No…”

Pidge smirked. “As I thought.” She leaned in, whispering, “Weeb.”

He sat up, glaring back at her. “I’m the weeb here?”

“Kinda are, bud,” Lance suddenly joined in the conversation, supporting Pidge’s teasing while giving Hunk two pats on the back. “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with us.”

“Secret? You two are weebs! Not me!” Hunk cried, putting his face back on the counter.

“Maybe Knife Man is the biggest weeb of us all,” Pidge shrugged again with a blank expression, then slyly smiling sideways to Lance. “Who knows?”

Lance narrowed his eyes, throwing daggers at Pidge. Metaphorically. Internally. “You say that name one more time and I’m changing your contact to My Little Lesbean.”

Pidge snapped her head to face him straight on and narrowed her eyes back. “You wouldn’t.”

“I’ll even add the trademark emoji to it,” Lance threatened with a scowl.

Pidge gasped as horror spread across her face.

“My Little Pony, My Little Lesbean—no one will be able to tell the difference,” Lance teased as a malevolent smile cracked open.

“You wouldn’t dare,” she hissed as she put her hands on the table and leaned forward slightly, displaying her own angered expression that didn’t surface up to the scowl Lance could put on, but it was still an angry expression. Pidge just didn’t have the cheekbones to make an intimidating expression.

Lance hummed shortly with pride and whipped out his phone, still holding eye contact with Pidge. “I. Would.”

Pidge reached to grab his phone. Of course, with her tiny arms up against Lance’s long arms, the reach was futile. Lance simply snickered and opened his phone, then going into the contacts app and clicking on what at the moment was labeled Meanie Pidgeon. Everything in Pidge dropped to sheer disappointment.

“Meanie Pidgeon? That’s the best you could come up with?”

“I’m listed as a Carebear, remember?” Hunk intruded. “Did you really expect him to think of a good insult for your contact?”

“I expected better,” Pidge answered without looking at Hunk, watching as Lance typed in the new contact above their heads. “Especially since it was in retaliation to me changing his contact to Losershooter.”

Lance proudly hummed again, turning his phone off and shoving it back in his pocket. “There, now you’re My Little Lesbean™. Suck on that, Pidgeon.” He smirked at Pidge.

Allura laughed, drawing Pidge’s attention to her. At the moment, she was smiling at Pidge with her elbow resting on the countertop and her cheek resting in her palm. “My, you all really  _ are  _ weird,” she light-hearted kidded, followed by a soft sigh.

Pidge didn’t understand why her cheeks burned being called weird since it wasn’t a compliment. Maybe it was Allura’s laugh and smile. Who knows?

“Well you’re here, so you must be weird too!” Lance argued in self-defense.

Allura laughed again and Pidge’s skin burned even more. She quickly shifted her head to face forward, staring at the red counter.

It was Allura’s laugh and smile.

As the conversation continued with Lance and Hunk continued, Allura laughed more and more, which made Pidge’s face burn more and more. But her heart didn’t pick up, nor did her stomach tie into knots. Her entire face burned, but she couldn’t help but grin and keep listening to Allura’s laughter. Her laughter was comforting, heart-warming. Her chest filled with warmth instead of tensing and pounding. Glancing at Allura’s smile for a second before averting her eyes again made her heart flutter and her head feel light on her shoulders, both feelings full of bliss.

Lance and Hunk were right about her not being ready to hear about her dad in class. So maybe they were right about her crushing on Allura, too.


	23. "Damn those ocean eyes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> song: "Verge" by Owl City and Aloe Blacc
> 
> holy shishkabob this is a longer chapter than usually, i sure hope it's enjoyable!!

“Uhp, my mom’s here,” Hunk blurted as he looked at a text he got. He shoved his phone away and got up, leaving a five dollar bill on the counter. “Make sure Keith gets that,” he told Lance. He then smiled and waved to Pidge and Allura. “See you guys!”

“See ya,” Pidge responded with a grin and a small wave.

“Goodbye, Hunk!” Allura chimed. Pidge and Lance stared at her. She blinked in confusion. “What?”

Lance squinted. “Why do you always talk so formally? Is it because you’re British?”

Allura’s face shifted to become even more confused. “Did I say something wrong?”

Pidge turned to Lance with her stereotypical expression. “It’s because she’s British.”

“What does me being from England have to do with anything?” Allura questioned.

“Your language,” both Pidge and Lance monotonically replied in unison, staring at Allura with slightly narrowed eyes and blank mouths.

Allura lowered her eyebrows and squinted her own eyes. “My language is not different than yours! Maybe some wordings… But it’s not entirely different!” she huffed before the defensiveness melted and her head sunk into her shoulders as she looked away. She genuinely, gently asked, “Is it?” while she was clearly becoming insecure again.

Something in Pidge dropped seeing Allura unsure of herself. Pidge typically saw Allura as very confident and self-loving, though with how Allura had acted all day thus far, Pidge was questioning how much confidence Allura really had. Or, Pidge wondered if Allura felt nervous because she was finally hanging out with friends in her new place to call home. Pidge wanted to ask but worried it would be overstepping with Lance around, so she brushed it aside and gave Allura a soft laugh and a grin.

“We’re just being idiots,” Pidge assured.

“It’s how you have fun and bond,” Lance added with a smile.

Allura smiled at Pidge with excitement shimmering in her eyes. “Oh, like our egg joke!”

Pidge snorted and smiled back. “Yeah, exactly like that.”

There was a pause between them as Lance leaned backwards to look at Pidge’s back before sitting up straight again, more squinting eyes glued to Pidge. “You’re wearing Matt’s jacket again?”

Pidge let out a huff and rolled her eyes. “His fault for leaving it behind.”

Lance peered over at Allura. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

Allura blinked. “Um, well, what are you thinking?”

Lance put a hand on his chin as he smirked. There was a sparkle in his eyes. “What we’re going to do about Pidge’s clothes?”

Allura blinked once but then her face beamed with an open smile and sparkles in her eyes, too. “We have to leave  _ now! _ We just ate brunch so we should be alright for a while, right? Can we go?” Allura excitedly rambled to Lance.

Pidge either thought Allura had gone back to being insane and was jumping on board the cosplay train with Lance or they were thinking of going to a mall.

“It’s not too far of a bus ride away,” Lance ensured.

They were thinking of going to a mall.

Allura squealed. “Let’s go right now!”

Before Pidge had a say in anything, she was being dragged by both wrists towards the door.

“Hey, Keith! I left a forty-five on the counter! Keep the change as a tip!” Lance yelled towards the kitchen as Keith popped his head out. Lance winked to Keith which made Pidge want to stab him with a pencil, but she didn’t have one. Seemingly Keith wanted to stab Lance too seeing as he glared at Lance and rolled his eyes before going over and retrieving the money.

“I’m so excited,” Allura babbled as they opened the door.

Pidge noticed a grin on Keith’s face before leaving, Keith grinning and lightly shaking his head at the amount Lance had left. She smirked and let the door swing to a close behind her.

“Don’t worry, Lance, he’s flattered by your tip,” Pidge teasingly reassured Lance, shoving her hands in her pockets and looking up at him. He looked down at her with an attentive expression to which she grinned, her way of telling him she was telling the truth and not solely teasing.

Lance smiled and went back to conversing with Allura. The entire wait for the bus as well as the bus ride to the mall was filled with them conversing about what styles to look for, Pidge silently stuck in the middle of the two towers. The conversation didn’t include Pidge even though she was the person they were looking for clothes for, so she unhappily texted her mom that she was going to the mall with Lance and Allura. She left out that they were forcing clothes on her. Typical Lance, and apparently typical Allura. They ignored Pidge’s existence practically, so she played games onto her phone while having to hear the two argue over what styles would fit Pidge best.

“Definitely cutesy with things such as floral accents and lightweight but more on the tomboy side of misses clothes,” Allura finally stated to Lance.

They were near the mall, the bus ride being about seven minutes straight to Pidge’s dismay. She’d already gotten three stars on every recipe available on the Cooking Mama app. Pidge wished the bus ride would just end already.

Lance raised an eyebrow at Allura. “Misses?”

Allura raised an eyebrow in kind. “Yes…? As in young women? Teenage girls?”

“Oh,” Lance said as he understood, drawing out the word. He nodded in agreement with certainty, the two finally deciding on a theme together.

“I think Macy’s would have articles that would match that,” Allura put in.

Lance vigorously shook his head. “Macy’s stuff is cheaply made and overpriced. No way am I stepping foot in that store.”

Allura hummed while thinking, crossing her arms and tapping her foot. Lance put his hand back on his chin again, thinking too.

Lance’s face honestly reminded Pidge of the thinking emoticon. She really, really wanted the bus ride to be over already.

Lance and Allura both gasped, looking at each other and yelling in unison, “J.C. Penny!”

The entire bus shushed, eyes on the three of them. Pidge let out a puff of air in the awkward silence, Allura and Lance awkwardly looking back at the other bus riders. Pretty quickly the volume picked back up, which Pidge was thankful for. The bus ride was already unwanted as it was. Having the attention of the bus didn’t make it any more bearable. Although Pidge appreciated Lance trying to help move things along for her and Allura, she wasn’t in need of help nor did she exactly want it right then. At all.

She gave him a look once she finally caught his attention. He got the memo right away. She’d figured out his set up plan.

“I absolutely adore helping others with shopping,” Allura bubbled on. “I haven’t been to the mall yet! This will be so exciting!”

Pidge couldn’t keep the little tug on the side of her mouth down while Allura was childishly excited. Allura’s excitement was endearing.

The bus finally came to a stop, Pidge’s wrists being pulled again as they walked up to the mall doors. Lucky for Pidge, the store Lance and Allura wanted was closest to the bus stop. Pidge groaned as they stepped through the doors, Allura squealing again while Lance chuckled. Allura immediately ran off, checking out all sorts of things J.C. Penny had out and slinging thing after thing over her arm.

After only a minute of Pidge standing around, bored, Allura called for her. “Pidge!” She walked up with a bright smile and her arms full. “Come with me and try all these on!”

Pidge opened her mouth to protest, but seeing the pure joy swirling in Allura’s ocean eyes made her close her eyes and shrug, simply responding with, “Okay.”

Allura hurriedly pushed Pidge into the nearest set of women’s changing rooms. “Are you alright with me coming in with you?”

Pidge shuddered, turning bright red and looking forward at the boring wall so she didn’t have to look Allura in the eyes. “I would prefer to change on my own,” she nervously answered, her voice shaking slightly. She really didn’t like people seeing her with less than a tank top and shorts on, so having Allura ask to come with her while she changed was a hundred times worse.

Pidge looked up to find Allura pouting at her puppy-dog eyes. “Please?”

Pidge sighed and opened the door to a free stall, avoiding looking at Allura. Allura squealed again and rushed in, organizing everything she’d grabbed on the provided stall hooks. It occured to Pidge that she hadn’t really  _ hung out _ with Allura before; Pidge had never seen her so invested in something, or seen her this hyper. Pidge thought she could get used to seeing Allura this happy. Pidge let out an exhale loudly, the opposite of a snort, as she shook her head at herself with a small grin. She finally closed the stall door behind her.

“Alright!” Allura rubbed her hands together and stepped away from the now filled hooks. Allura smiled to Pidge. Pidge simply blinked back up at her. Allura hummed and sat down in one of three chairs on one side of the stall, taking her phone out. “Don’t worry, I won’t look. Go ahead and try an outfit on together!”

Pidge shivered at the thought of not only having to take her shirt off but her pants as well in the same place as someone who wasn’t her mom. She took a deep breath and let her jacket slide off as she turned her back to Allura, then pulling her shirt over her head and letting her jeans fall to the floor before kicking them off. She hated every moment of this, but at least Allura couldn’t see anything of her front. That’s what she cared most about.   
“You don’t shave your legs?”

Pidge physically jumped, hunching over and whipping her head over her shoulder to find Allura blankly staring up at her with her phone open in her hand. Pidge sucked yet another breath in and cleared her throat, standing up straight and sifting through what Allura had picked out for her. “Nah, too much work,” she softly but plainly responded.

To Pidge’s surprise, Allura didn’t respond. Pidge gulped, disliking the silence. It made standing there feeling bare even more anxiety-provoking. She decided she had to speak up.

“So, did you go to malls a lot with friends back in England?” she asked, that being the first thing that came to mind. For once the first thing she thought of wasn’t something she regretted.

“No,” Allura sighed. “I only really went anywhere with on friend, Romelle, and she hates anywhere that has large crowds.”

“I hate large crowds,” Pidge grumbled under her breath, quiet enough for Allura to hear. At the same time as being pettily upset about having been dragged to the mall, she was also glad since it meant more time with two friends. It meant she could have a life.

There was yet another pause as Pidge finally set on jean shorts and a white and black striped t-shirt. Pidge began putting them on, feeling more and more awkward by the second.

“Do you still text Romelle?”

“Occasionally.”

There was yet another pause, Pidge taking a look in the mirror and then deciding to tuck the shirt in. Yet another squeal sounded from Allura.

“That’s so cute!”

Pidge looked at Allura, her eyes swirling and sparkling like an ocean under the sun while her cheeks were raised high and her perfect teeth being shown off. Pidge blushed and looked away as Allura insisted, “We have to show Lance!” before running off to go and find Lance, leaving Pidge in the stall by herself.

“Damn those ocean eyes,” Pidge grumbled, going through the clothes Allura had chosen out again. Most of it was too detailed for Pidge to like. She liked plain and simple.

Lance hummed behind her, getting her attention and causing her to turn around. He hummed again, putting his arm over his chest and his other hand back on his chin. “It needs something.” Lance then snapped and smiled at Allura. “I saw just the thing. Hold on, I’ll be right back.”

Pidge’s heart sank and her whole body drooped. She was hoping her time in the stall would be quick, but it seemed it was going to be a while.

“This,” Pidge overheard Lance say as he walked towards the stall.

Allura gasped so Pidge stuck her head out to see what Lance had. Hanging from a hanger Lance was holding up was an overalls-looking dress that was made of a green, rubbery, see-through material.

Pidge squinted. “That’s completely impractical.”

“Just slip it over what you're already wearing,” Allura urged with her signature heart-melting smile.

Pidge sighed and took the dress-thing off its hanger, slipping it over her head. It was the littlest bit too big for her so it fit easily over the clothes. Pidge turned and looked at herself in the mirror. It was a bit weird, but also somewhat cool-looking.

Lance smirked. “Swanky.”

Pidge looked at him with pure disgust.

“I think it’s cute!” Allura sang with a giggle before shoving Pidge back further into the stall. “Come on, try something else on!”

Pidge rolled her eyes and grinned. She couldn’t say no to Allura’s fun. She took the dress-thing, t-shirt, and shorts off, putting them on a chair she designated the likable pile and going on to look through what Allura had chosen out for her and try on another pairing. She pulled out a light gray sweater reading ‘Space’ in a pastel purple that was purposefully oversized, as well as grabbing black leggings that had pink borders and pink lines down the sides. She put them on together and looked in the mirror, grinning before turning to Allura with her hands behind her back. “What do you think?”

Allura smiled widely. “That’s absolutely adorable.” Allura then frowned. “Would you actually wear any of this stuff, though?”

Pidge sighed, looking at the looming clothes left on the hangers. There were tank tops, pairs of jeans and jean shorts, all sorts of t-shirts, a few casual dresses, a skirt or two, and a few pairs of leggings. “I don’t know.” She then glared at Allura. “I don’t have much money with me, you know. I’m not buying any of this.”

Allura waved her hand while she stood. “No need to worry about it. I’m going to go look around some more. Try on more things if you’d like, but be out soon!” Allura smiled. “I want to see more of the mall.”

Pidge grinned as the stall door closed behind Allura. She didn’t have to try anything else on since Allura wasn’t there. That made her beyond happy. She took off the leggings and the sweater and put her own clothes back on, then grabbing everything off the hooks and the chair and heading out. She exited the changing room area, looking around for Lance and Allura. Pidge’s face dropped once she spotted them; they were now looking at shoes, and Allura had somehow put even more clothes in her arms. Pidge groaned to the ceiling before walking over to them, wanting their time in J.C. Penny to be over already.

Allura noticed her and beamed. “Oh! Pidge! I’ll take all of that from you!” She walked over and took everything out of Pidge’s arms, holding everything in her arms along with a pair of sandals, then walking away.

Pidge was left a blushing, muttering mess, staring off to the side. “Stupid Allura and stupid Lance and stupid mall and stupid clothes and stupid—”

“Hey! What are you doing?” Lance yelled to Allura, unknowingly shutting Pidge up and drawing her attention up to Allura.

Allura came to a halt and turned a little to look back at Lance, giving him a slightly raised eyebrow and a gentle but determined expression. “Getting everything.”

“Wait!” Pidge blurted. She nervously laughed, “You really, really don’t need to. I have enough clothes, I promise.” Allura simply turned forward and walked to the cash register, Pidge hunching over with a sigh. She glowered at Lance. “This is your fault. Even you didn’t mean for it to go this way.”

Lance shrugged, taking his phone out. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Pidge groaned at the ceiling again and walked towards the cash register, knowing Lance wouldn’t admit to setting her and Allura up.

“Thank you!” Allura hummed, taking multiple bags off of the counter. She began walking towards Pidge, her eyes gleaming with joy. “Where to next?”

“Why not just walk around?” Lance suggested, having walked behind Pidge without Pidge even noticing.

“Ooh, yes! Sounds like fun!” Allura giggled, racing off.

“Hey, Allura, wait up!” Lance yelled, chasing after her.

Pidge rolled her eyes and grinned, simply walking out of the store. Allura was running to every window to see what they had. Pidge simply followed behind her while Lance checked everything out with her. Pidge was sure Lance and Allura could spend all day in the mall. Everything in her dropped. She seriously hoped she wasn’t going to be forced to stay the whole day with them.

“Who wants fried dough and lemonade?” Allura asked as they came to the food court.

So Pidge shoved her face full of sugar and continued the journey she was being dragged on with an okay-ish mood. They came to a Sephora, which Pidge was ready to walk right past out of habit but her elbow was grabbed and she was pulled in.

“Makeover?” Allura asked Lance with a smile.

Shouldn’t Pidge have been the one to be asked?

“Makeover,” Lance answered for her.

Pidge simply groaned as she was put into a chair and had makeup smothered on her face by a professional insecurity-provoker. Also known as a makeup artist. The makeover took about four minutes of Pidge sitting there and complying to what the woman needed her to do, being turned around for Lance and Allura to see once the artist was done.

Allura gasped and then took off without saying a word. Pidge looked to Lance in confusion. Lance shrugged, clearly confused as well. Allura came back smiling, a Sephora bag hanging in front of the J.C. Penny bags on her lower arm. She slid the bags off and held them out to Pidge. “These are all for you.”

Pidge grumbled. “Why did you buy me all this stuff?”

Allura giggled. “Because I can.”

“How rich are you?!” Pidge clamored, opening the bags and taken back by the sheer amount of stuff that was now in her hands.

Pidge found a finger placed on her mouth, causing her to look up. Allura winked. “Don’t worry about that.”

“Hey, check this out!” Lance exclaimed, jumping into a pink Barbie jeep sitting outside a toy store.

Pidge walked up to him, standing next to the car and giving him a look. “Seriously?”

“Loser, get in,” Lance told her as he checked out all the buttons the kids’ jeep had.

“Uh, no. I’d rather hijack a real car.”

“I’ll join you!” Allura laughed as she squeezed her way onto the top of the trunk, putting her legs on either side of Lance and putting a hand on his shoulder. She pointed forward with the other hand. “Onward!”

Lance started the car and called to Pidge, “Beat you to the end of this hall!”

Lance’s face scrunched as Allura’s dropped, Lance pressing the pedal over and over again. The jeep was slow enough Pidge could stroll past it easily. So she did. Then she stopped and stood in its path, facing them.

“It’s got speed controls applied. They wouldn’t just leave a fully functioning one out in front of the store.” Pidge snickered.

Lance twitched his nose at her. “Smartass.”

Pidge sighed, frowning at him again. “Are you done?”

“Hey! What are you doing?!” the store clerk yelled, running out of the store.

“We are now,” Allura gulped, hopping off of the back of the jeep.

Lance wiggled his way out, then telling them, “Run!”

Of course, although they were being chased, all of them couldn’t help but laugh as they sprinted down the hall and turned the corner.

“Wait!” Lance yelled, stopping Pidge and Allura.

He backtracked to the store on the corner, pointing finger guns at the store. “We can hide here.”

Pidge looked up at the sign. “Happy Hour: Costumes and More.” Pidge squinted.

Before she could object, Allura grabbed her hand and pulled her into the store. They hid behind a wall, ending up in the kids’ section of the store. Pidge let out a sigh and let the bags fall to the ground around her, too done with life to keep them on her arms for now. Lance being Lance grabbed a crown, cape, and sword. He then threw a dragon costume at Pidge.

“Fight me, monster! Or are you a coward?” Lance roared in a dramatic, overdone voice as he stood tall with his shoulders purposefully broadened, one hand on his hip and the other holding the sword up.

Pidge couldn’t back down from a challenge. She stepped into the full-body costume and zipped it up, slightly disappointed she fit perfectly into a kids’ dragon costume. She lifted her own spirits by going to acting, grabbing a sword and pointing it at Lance. “You’ll be nothing once I’m done with you,” she hissed, also using a dramatically overdone voice.

The harsh battle began, their swords clashing mightily. In all honesty, they looked like complete idiots, whacking plastic swords while wearing kids’ costumes and making noises that sounded like terrible sound effects from a low budget show. At least it made Allura laugh and the clerk wasn’t paying them any attention. Allura began looking through the costumes herself, which gave Lance the chance to break character and smirk at Pidge.

“And you said you wouldn’t like cosplay,” he teased.

Pidge turned red as they continued clashing swords. “Shut up! Allura’s right there!” she eagerly muttered to him.

Lance began laughing, making Pidge even more embarrassed. Her nerves eased as Allura walked past her and over to Lance, wearing a tiara.

“Please, Prince Lance, save me!” Allura dramatically cried, slinging her arms over Lance’s shoulders before breaking character and giggling.

Lance and Pidge laughed lightly too before continuing their ridiculous fight. The fates were not in her favor today, seeing as the tail on the dragon suit swung forward when she was taking a sudden step forward, tripping her the next step. Pidge ended up off-balance and off-guard, Lance being able to knock the sword out of her hand while she regained her stance.

“No fair,” Pidge huffed with a pout.

Lance threw his own sword to the floor, suddenly swooping Allura into his arms bridal style. “Princess, do not fear, for now you are safe in my arms,” Lance continued his act.

Allura giggled, then glancing at Pidge before looking back at Lance and bluntly proclaiming, “I think I’d prefer to be with the dragon.” She swung her legs out of Lance’s arms with ease, then walking around Pidge and hugging her from behind.

Pidge was being hugged. By Allura. For the first time. Her entire body turned red as she looked up at Allura. Allura smiled down at her. Pidge smiled back and started giggling uncontrollably, which Allura joined her in. Lance snorted, taking his crown and cape off and putting the swords back.

“So, where to next?” he asked as the girls took off their own accessories.

Pidge shrugged at Lance as she pulled the last dragon leg off. She caught Allura grinning at her. Pidge couldn’t help but grin back. She picked up all her bags right before getting pulled by the elbow again.

In the end, Pidge ended up having to spend the whole day at the mall. But that turned out to be perfectly okay.


	24. "Take-out Chinese!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am soooo so so sorry for being three days late on this update guys  
> my grandparents were here and i'm struggling with a lot of personal life stuff and just,,, it was a lot harder to get these chapters done than i expected, i apologize  
> but as promised, three more chapters!! yay!!
> 
> song for this one is "Venus" by Sleeping At Last

Pidge sighed as she looked at her phone, shaking her head as she was heading down the street towards her house. They’d ended up staying at the mall until 5 p.m., which was about five and a half hours. Even so, she was getting a text from Allura.

**_Allura:_ ** _ Today was awesome! Thank you for indulging me and Lance. Would you mind coming over for tutoring? I know we’ve already seen each other a lot today, but Saturday’s are meant to be work days… Sorry I forgot to ask before we left the mall. I would have had you over for dinner as well, but a night time tutoring session would be lovely. That is, if you don’t mind! _

Pidge couldn’t help but snort as a grin formed.

_ I don’t mind. I’ll be over at 7 and stay till 9 or 10? _

Pidge didn’t even get to shove her phone back in her pocket before she got a response.

**_Allura:_ ** _ Sounds wonderful! See you then! _

Pidge snorted to herself yet again, quickly sending, “ _ See you later, _ ” before putting her phone away and stepping up to her front door. After opening the front door and proceeding to shut it behind herself, not bothering to call out anything or look around because she expected silence; her mom usually shopped for groceries Saturday evenings.

As she was taking off her second shoe, Pidge was suddenly enveloped in someone’s embrace. His curly, light brown hair was a little too long, nearly getting in his brown eyes behind his round glasses. He was wearing a black jersey jacket reading ‘G.I.T.’ over a dark blue t-shirt and jeans, along with orange sneakers. In other words, it was the person Pidge followed in the footsteps of for many, many aspects of her life.

Pidge’s purse and bags dropped to the floor, as did her jaw. Her dropped jaw quickly became a beaming smile as her arms wrapped around the person holding her, yelling, “Matt!”

“Pidge!” her brother exclaimed in return.

Both of them laughed a little as they hugged and pulled away.

“You made it,” Pidge gushed.

Matt chuckled. “Of course I did. I wouldn’t miss our favorite festival for the world.” He then poked his head out to see past Pidge, pointing at the bags on the floor behind her. “What are all of those for?”

Pidge sighed through her teeth. “Lance and Allura bought me a bunch of stuff at the mall.”

“Oh, is that the community service girl?” Matt questioned with a grin.

Pidge turned red and huffed, averting her eyes. Her brother snorted and shook his head with his hands on your hips.

“So, you finally have a friend you’re interested in?” he teased.

Pidge twitched her nose with a glare in his direction. “No,” she lied, though she then crossed her arms and went on to tell some truth. “She and Lance are insufferable together. Especially at the mall.” She let out another sigh, turning to grab the bags. “I’ll take all these upstairs. Be right back.”

“Okay,” Matt responded to acknowledge her before walking back to his stool.

Pidge quickly ran upstairs with the four bags, three of which were from J.C. Penny’s. Pidge sighed and threw the J.C. Penny bags into her closet, letting them fill her closet floor, and simply put the Sephora bag on her dresser. She never wore makeup, so it was pointless for Allura to have bought her makeup. She sighed to herself as she went back downstairs, finding that Matt had pulled a stool around for her to sit next to him in. A grin came back to her face and she sat next to Matt.

“How’s the community service going? It seems like you’re already friends, going shopping together,” Matt commented, looking at Pidge with a genuine grin she missed seeing every day.

Having her brother away at college in the countryside sucked. However, that’s where Garrison Institute of Technology was placed: outside of Garrison.

She groaned at Matt’s question. “It’s okay, I guess. Yeah, we’re friends, but we’re only newly friends. It hasn’t gotten in the way of tutoring.”

Matt hummed. “I’m glad you’re finally making more friends than Hunk and Lance. Tutoring must be helping you with your social skills.” He gave a small smirk. So Pidge punched him before growling, “I already had people skills!”

“So, you just didn’t like people before?” Matt continued teasing, the punch not affecting him. They’d playfully punched each other hundreds of times; it didn’t hurt either of them.

Pidge huffed, crossing her arms without responding. Matt laughed, so Pidge punched Matt’s arm again. Matt’s laughter changed to a light chuckle as he put an arm around Pidge, Pidge easing into the well-known comfort. They both exchanged grins.

“How about you?” Pidge asked. “How’s social life in college?”

Matt groaned. “Everyone in the Masters program is annoying, so I haven’t really been talking to anyone. Besides, we’re all too busy.” Matt chuckled again, smiling at Pidge. “I was lucky to get to come home at all.”

Pidge hummed with a nod, though she didn’t get to say any actual words as Matt’s expression dropped and he continued talking.

“I got texts from both mom and Shiro about what happened.”

Pidge’s lungs and heart seized, her gaze turning to the counter.

Matt sighed and rubbed her back. “Hey, it’s okay.”

Pidge took a deep breath, being eased by Matt’s touch, grinning up at her brother. “Thanks. Sorry you heard about it from both mom and Shiro,” Pidge laughed. “Mom I expected. I totally forgot you and Shiro still text, though.”

“We actually meet for dinner once in a while just to stay in touch,” Matt added with a smile. “He’s living on the outskirts of town, so it’s not hard for us to meet halfway and eat somewhere on the roadside.”

Pidge snorted. “That’s a weird place to meet.”

Matt shrugged. “It’s close enough for me that I don’t have to worry about missing any work or classes.” He then sighed, crossing his arms on the counter. “Shiro’s been struggling lately and I don’t know how to help him.”

Pidge’s eyes widened with curiosity. “What is he struggling with?”

“Do you remember when he went up north to work at another school for a while?” Matt questioned. “And Adam?”

Pidge’s eyes shrunk to be minuscule in their squint. “Yes, I remember his asshat of a boyfriend back then.”

Matt sighed. “Well, he’s struggling because apparently he’s fallen for someone in Garrison, but he still misses Adam and wonders if things could have been different had he not taken the permanent job at Garrison High.” Matt slid forward on the counter, putting his chest on the surface and his chin on his arms. “I’m his best friend and yet I have no idea what to tell him when it comes to Adam. I just get frustrated.”

“The relationship was stupid,” Pidge declared blankly with a lowered expression, as she always did. “And either way, everyone gets upset talking about Adam. It wasn’t good for Shiro.” Pidge sucked in a breath, letting it out in a long huff. “But you should cheer him on to chase after this new person.” She added in a grumble, “Hopefully this guy is better.”

Matt lifted his chest off the counter, grinning at Pidge. “Thanks, Katie.”

Pidge smiled. “No problem.”

The door opened, their mom stepping in, calling, “I’m—”

Her bags dropped to the floor as she ran over, putting one arm around Matt’s shoulders and putting the other hand in his hair. She was practically radiating enough energy to be compared to the sun. “Matt, I wasn’t expecting you! I’m so happy you’re here! I’ve missed you so much!” She kept her hold on Matt, not letting him go even once she was done talking.

Matt laughed, putting his hand on his mom’s. “I’ve missed you too, mom.”

Pidge snorted. “You didn’t tell mom you were coming?”

Matt smiled at Pidge. “I thought it would be a nice surprise.”

“It was!” their mom sang as she finally pulled away. “I’ve got to put away groceries, but since Matt’s here, why don’t we order food in as a treat?” their mom rambled, walking back to her shopping bags and bringing them into the kitchen. “Do you guys know what you’d like?” their mom asked, pausing to look at them before doing anything more.

Pidge looked to Matt. Matt looked to Pidge. Both of them got a sparkle in their eyes behind their glasses. In unison, they put their fists down on the counter and decided, “Take-out Chinese!”

Their mom laughed as she walked out of the kitchen to the front doorway, kicking her shoes off. “Alright, can one of you hand me my phone?” she asked as she came back to the kitchen and began unpacking and organizing the groceries.

Matt and Pidge glared at each other as they both got up, pausing while still looking at each other, their mom laughing behind them. Pidge took the opportunity to sprint off first, though she wasn’t sure where her mom’s phone was.

“What?! We didn’t have a countdown!” Matt whined, running after her.

The two siblings laughed as they looked around the bottom floor, neither of them having luck. Finally, their mom called, “It’s in my room!”

Pidge and Matt exchanged glares again before darting to the stairs laughing, Matt giving Pidge a playful push as they neared them. Pidge gave a push back before they both ran up to their mom’s room. Matt budged in front of Pidge, getting into the room first, but Pidge saw the phone from the doorway and tripped Matt, Matt needing to catch his balance. Both of them were still laughing. Pidge grabbed the phone and rushed out, trying to get back down to the kitchen before Matt could catch her. Of course, Matt being taller than her, he caught up at the bottom of the stairs and wrapped his arms around her to begin his evil plan. He tickled Pidge enough that she couldn’t hold herself up, her laughter echoing through the house. He slipped the phone out of her hand and dashed, getting back to his stool before Pidge could catch her breath.

“Here you go, mom.” Matt held out the phone over the counter with a gentle smile, then turning his head to look at Pidge with a malicious look—a smile curled at the edges and eyes burning with fire.

Pidge panted as she sat down, still recovering from being tickled. Once she fully caught her breath, she narrowed her eyes at Matt and pouted. “No fair. You always do that.”

Matt smirked a grin and shrugged. “It’s routine.”

Pidge rolled her eyes and groaned, crossing her arms as she turned her entire body away from him. Their mom laughed lightly and called their typical Chinese place. Matt poked Pidge’s arm. Pidge simply let out a huff in response, staying turned in her seat and keeping her arms crossed. Matt paused before poking Pidge’s arm yet again. Pidge didn’t respond at all this time, just stayed still. Matt paused yet again, though this time, he poked her multiple times. After a few pokes, Pidge cracked a little, grinning with a snort. Matt didn’t stop, making Pidge fall into laughing and smiling. Pidge playfully pushed Matt, telling him, “Stop it already.”

Matt chuckled, smiling at her.

Their mom hung up on the place, looking to her kids. “Pidge, are you doing any tutoring tonight?”

Pidge swallowed, getting uneasy thinking about spending even more time with Allura than she already had today. “Yeah, if that’s okay. I was going to ask you later. Can you drive me so that I’ll be there at 7?”

Her mom smiled. “Of course. Now, how about an episode of N.C.I.S.?”

“Yeah!” both Matt and Pidge exclaimed with ecstatic smiles.

Nothing beat an episode of N.C.I.S. while eating Chinese food with her family for Pidge. It was one of her absolute favorite occasions. But as all things do, it had to come to an end, which meant Pidge needed to head to Allura’s.

“Alright, you ready to go, kiddo?” her mom asked as she cleared plates off the living room coffee table, Matt busy finding something else to watch.

Pidge paused, an idea popping into her head. She stood up and grinned. “Hold on, I need to go change.”

She ran up without letting anyone say anything, getting to her room and slipping her clothes on to slip another outfit on. She checked herself out in the mirror, coming to the conclusion again that the ‘Space’ sweater and the black leggings with pink outlining went well together. She nodded to herself, grinning.

“This will surprise her. Just like she surprised me.”


	25. "They're my brothers, not my lovers."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> song: "Someone To You" by Banners

The moon had already taken its place in the sky, the only light on the street being the lights on the houses. Pidge stood at the door, beginning to doubt herself as she stared down at her clothes in the dim lighting coming from Allura’s house. She hesitated to knock. She was now sure she looked stupid, muttering things to herself like, “I probably look like I’m trying too hard.”

She let out a sigh, lifting her head and knocking. Her heart sank further and further, her confidence depleting, as she waited for Allura. She could hear the footsteps behind the door, fear rising from her toes to her knees to her shoulders to her head. Everything in her ceased when the door opened.

Allura’s jaw dropped with wide eyes, a smile opened wide with eyes that had a glimmer making Pidge’s heart skip a beat. Even after a full day of seeing Allura’s smile.

Pidge eased as the moment where Allura took her in passed, Pidge snorting and darting her eyes away as a half of her mouth pulled up into a grin. “It looks bad, doesn’t it?”

“No!” Allura insisted with a small laugh. “It looks even more amazing than in the dressing room.” Allura gave a small wink.

Pidge rolled her eyes, unable to contain a smile while she still looked away from Allura. “There’s no way that’s true.”

Allura laughed again. “But it is true.” There was a pause as Allura leaned in the doorway, avoiding eye contact herself. “Um… This might seem abrupt, but I was wondering, are you not straight?”

Pidge nearly fell backwards into the grass out of surprise. The question felt awkward, and Pidge didn’t know how to take it really. She regained her balance and cleared her throat, glancing between looking at the side of the house and looking at Allura. “What makes you ask that?”

“Well, the conversation I had with Lance over your style sparked my curiosity. Either you’re a simple tomboy, or you’re not straight.” Allura shrugged, catching Pidge’s eyes and locking on them.

Pidge found herself unable to look away, wrapped up in the sparkling blue eyes staring her down. She blurted, “I’m gay.”

Unlike the first time she blurted it around Allura, this time wasn’t regrettable, nor was her stomach twisting into knots. Instead, it was relieving to finally tell Allura upfront. Or, well, as upfront as it got with Katie Holt.

“I thought so!” Allura excitedly exclaimed, standing up straight and reaching her hands out to take Pidge’s hands. “So, then, you don’t have a crush on Lance?”

Pidge nearly choked on air, her face distorting. “Ew, no.” She felt nauseous just at the thought, shuddering to herself.

Allura nodded, but she didn’t say anything. Instead, Allura looked away from Pidge. A fear rose in Pidge quickly, wondering if Allura was feeling awkward having the conversation at hand, or worrying that Allura was sure that Pidge had feelings for Lance. Clearly Allura hadn’t caught on to the fact that they met because Pidge threw a binder at Lance’s head. Then again, it was odd for Allura to ask such a question anyway. Did Pidge have a chance? Surely she couldn’t, she was sure of it. On top of that, Lance was head over heels for Keith; had Allura not realized that either?

Whatever is was, Pidge was sure she needed to make herself clear. Pidge cleared her throat, her face relaxing into her usual, unemotional expression as she continued to explain, “He’s my best friend. Same with Hunk. They’re my brothers, not my lovers.”

Allura giggled at Pidge’s rhyme, putting a grin back on Pidge’s face. Allura let go of Pidge’s hands and finally step back from the doorway, giving a small wave of the hand to direct Pidge in. “Let’s go to my room.”

Pidge followed her inside, heading up to her room. She gulped down the fear that had built up, instead taking some courage for herself to figure out some more about her chances with Allura—if Pidge decided she  _ was _ fully crushing on Allura, that is. Though, she was feeling a bit more hopeful after Allura’s initial reaction.

“So, how about you? Are you bi? You dated Plaxum, so I assume you’re not straight either,” Pidge spoke up as they got to the top of the stairs.

“I’m surprised you guessed correctly right off the bat,” Allura giggled as they walked towards Allura’s room, then walking in. “I’m bi.” She then sighed as she sank into a beanbag. “I haven’t quite figured out my type. It’s a dilemma.”

Pidge’s insecurity spiked way above anything she’d felt throughout the day so far. She was ready to curl up and hide in a corner with her laptop, conspiracy theories, and hot chocolate to block out the world. But the tutoring session had only just begun, and the conversation about sexuality had a long way to go. So, Pidge sat in agony with a forced normal, collected demeanor.

“Have you figured out yours?” Allura questioned.

Pidge’s heart skipped a beat again, but after the quick tension, everything in Pidge relaxed. She made herself comfortable in her own beanbag, speaking without thinking. “Well, I like when people have a lot of confidence and energy. It’s also nice if they’re a bit nerdy. And for looks, I’m game for just about anything since I don’t care that much about appearance.” She laughed and looked down with a smile, pulling at her new sweater. “If you hadn’t already noticed.”

Allura giggled before asking another question. “How about height?”

Pidge huffed, tilting her head with tinted cheeks out of embarrassment. “Since I’m so short, my options are basically limited to taller women.”

That also made Allura laugh. Pidge smiled, glad that Allura was now feeling comfortable. Pidge herself felt a bit better, as though a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Opening up to Allura was nice. Being with Allura was nice. Hearing her voice was nice. Just seeing her entrancing eyes, her lusciously shiny skin, her goddess-like silver hair—all of it was nice.

“So, can we work on history today? I didn’t remember enough for yesterday’s quiz and my teacher was quite unhappy,” Allura changed the subject, getting up to go to her multiple textbooks on her bedside table’s shelf.

Not to mention, Allura’s curves were modest but distinguished, which Pidge was guilty of staring at for a second while Allura was busy scanning through her book and coming back to the beanbags.

“I know the space unit is a difficult subject for you, but would you mind filling me in on expeditions that weren’t your father’s?” Allura gave a gentle smile, genuine care and good intent radiating off of her while her eyes swirled with curiosity.

Allura’s care struck Pidge’s heart, making her chest warm. As well as it made her happy that Allura was determined to learn more about the history of G.A.S.A. and learn more about space expeditions. Space was Pidge’s favorite subject, after all. 

Allura was perfect. There and then, as Allura sat back down and stared down, flipping through her textbook, it dawned on Pidge. She had slowly fallen head over heels for Allura.

A smile took over Pidge’s face as she responded to Allura.

“Sure, I can help with that.”


	26. "Let's go get that Tickle Me Elmo."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> song: "Hills To Climb" by Tim Meyers

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ OMG PIDGE _

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ P I D G E _

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ I GOT APPOINTED FOR HEAD OF THE VALENTINE BALL COMMITTEE _

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ AAAAAA I GET TO HELP WITH THE THEMES AND DESIGNS AND SETUP _

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ AAAAAAAAAAAAA _

It was always nice to get excited texts from Lance. However, they weren’t as nice when they were making Pidge’s phone buzz crazily at 8 in the morning when she was hoping to sleep in. She still decided to be nice.

_ That’s great! I’m proud of you _

Nice-ish.

_ Losershooter _

She put her phone down and flopped back onto her bed, staring up at the glow-in-the-dark stars and grinning. Today was the winter festival. After an extra minute of resting in her bed, she grabbed her glasses and raced over to Matt’s room, deciding he’d be up early too.

Pidge burst into Matt’s old room, slamming his door against the wall as she stood in his doorway. “Matt, Matt, Matt,” she pestered.

In return, Pidge got a groan from the blanketed lump on the bed, turned away from the door. She rolled her eyes and looked out Matt’s window, gasping. Snow dotted the trees and the grass, a bit of frost built around the window frame. It was a miracle.

“Matt!” she nearly screamed, getting Matt to startle and sit up.

Matt groaned again, rubbing his eyes. “What?” he shakily croaked.

She pointed to the window. “It’s snowing!”

Matt widened his eyes and put his glasses on to see, gasping himself and giving Pidge a wide smile. “It’s snowing!” he yelled back.

Pidge huffed. “Why did you get the bedroom with a window?” she muttered under her breath before running off.

Pidge ran downstairs with a tired, grumbling Matt behind her. Despite her lack of shoes or a sweatshirt, Pidge opened the front door and ran into the frost-covered grass. She smiled widely as she bent down and gathered enough snow for a small snowball, quickly casting it in Matt’s direction as he stayed in the doorway yawning.

Matt let out a cough as his chest was struck by the ball. He glared at Pidge, who smiled innocently and put her hands behind her back. Matt stepped out into the frost too, gathering his own ball. Pidge did the same. A war unleashed, both of them ending up covered in snow and covering the front of the house in snow from failed shots.

Their mom did not appreciate it. She leaned in the front doorway, which Matt had left open, and cleared her throat to get her children’s attention. Matt and Pidge froze, turning to their mom with stunned looks. Their mom simply gave them tired eyes and crossed arms. “Please stop throwing snow and walking around barefoot. You two aren’t little kids anymore.” She turned with a small wave and a yawn. “Close the door behind you. I’m going back to sleep.”

Matt and Pidge eyed each other, cracking smiles and small laughs as they dropped all the snow they were holding and headed back inside. Pidge wiped her feet off and raced upstairs, calling, “Dibs on the shower!”

“Aw, I was just about to go shower!” Matt whined as she followed her up.

Pidge got into the bathroom and held the door, grinning at him with an evil tinge to her eyes. “I’m first.”

She shut the door on Matt, hearing him groan loudly from the other side and storm off back to his room. She giggled before showering. She took things slow the rest of her morning, taking time to pick out an outfit before changing into it and heading down for cereal. Since their mom was in bed, she settled for cereal and brought it to the living room, turning N.C.I.S. on as Matt came downstairs. He brought over cereal too, so the two of them slowly ate as they watched together. Their mom popped in and out after an episode, scolding them for eating cereal in the living room while grabbing a quick breakfast for herself and then disappearing again.

After another two episodes, their mom finally came back downstairs.

“Hey, you guys want to head out? We can eat lunch at the festival,” their mom proposed.

Both Matt and Pidge lit up, quickly sprinting out of the living room and putting light winter coats on, Pidge also grabbing one of her favorite hats. It rarely snowed in Garrison, so she took the opportunity she had to wear her hat. Matt and their mom got ready to go and the three of them hopped in their mom’s car, driving off to a park in the busier part of the city. The park was placed near the mall, giving Pidge flashbacks of the day before as they drove past the mall. She couldn’t make her cheeks stop being pink. Thankfully for her, Matt was sitting in the passenger seat chatting away with their mom, so no one noticed and she didn’t have to deal with awkward interrogation.

They arrived at the park, which was full of booths for food, toys, trinkets, you name it. There weren’t many decorations, just the beautiful blooming trees dotted with snow on the fateful day. The Winter Festival wouldn’t have felt right if there hadn’t been any snow—even if the name of the whole thing was quite stupid and the booths were all makeshift booths made out of tents, folding tables, and decorations anyway. The festival wasn’t small, but it wasn’t large either; it was homey and brought up many memories for Pidge and Matt.

So as soon as Pidge spotted a food booth name that she recognized, she grabbed Matt and hauled his lazy butt over to it. Which, in reality, didn’t take much effort since Matt was excited about being there and all of the nostalgia, too. The two of them ordered their ripped-off crepes, Matt paying, and continued on their way through the line of booths. They ran around just like they did when they were much younger, looking at everything and touching everything and buying anything that was food as their mom chased after them and continuously scolded them. It felt like they were little again, Matt in middle school and Pidge just starting primary school. There were almost seven years between them, after all.

The nostalgia of their childish excitement got Pidge thinking about her dad again. But, looking at Matt smiling and winking at Pidge as he ordered another food item allowed her sadness to turn into sorrowful gladness—but nonetheless, she wasn’t losing her excitement.

Pidge looked around with a yawn as Matt received his new item, hoping to find something else to check out. She spotted a toy booth that was selling Tickle Me Elmo’s upfront. Her eyes sparkled as an idea popped in her head.

It’d been too long since she’d gotten to prank someone in the school.

“Hey, Matt! Look!” She looked to Matt with a massive smile and pointed at the Tickle Me Elmo. “Should we buy one and plant it in Shiro’s classroom?”

Matt’s eyes sparkled even more than Pidge’s as he bit into an empanada in the middle of the million different foods he was carrying. “Absolutely,” he said with his mouth full.

“Katie Holt, you are  _ not _ putting a Tickle Me Elmo in your history teacher’s classroom,” their mom strictly ordered while panting, happy they were stopped for a minute and she could catch up but unhappy they had stopped to contemplate scaring their childhood friend and Pidge’s current teacher.

“Oh come on,” Pidge whined, pouting and clutching the teddy bear and bag of cotton candy she was currently holding. “People prank their teachers all the time. No one here isn’t somehow related or friends with the faculty and staff!” She stuffed some cotton candy in her sad mouth and mumbled, “The town is too small…”

Their mom sighed, closing her eyes. “Alright. Fine.” She grinned evilly up at Matt and Pidge. “Let’s go get that Tickle Me Elmo.”

“Yes!” Matt and Pidge whispered before high-fiving and rushing to the booth.

“How can I help you?” a blue-haired, olive-skinned girl asked with a twinkling smile from behind the table of Tickle Me Elmo’s.

“Plaxum? What are you doing here?” Pidge questioned with her eyebrows knit.

“I volunteered to help out with a few booths,” Plaxum answered plainly with a shrug. “Got nothing better to do.”

Pidge snorted. “Anyone else volunteering with you?”

Plaxum grinned. “Lance was, though he left to go plan with the rest of the Valentine Ball Committee. Allura’s around, too, somewhere…” Plaxum leaned forward to look past the tent walls of the makeshift booth, peering around for any sign.

Pidge’s face turned red again at the mention of Allura. She was started to realize she really did have it bad like Lance and Hunk had predicted. She hated the thought of Lance and Hunk being right. She hated the thought enough that she reached her hand out and pushed the stomach of one of the Elmo’s through the ‘Try Me’ opening on the box, the Elmo immediately laughing the haunting laugh the toy was known for and startling both Plaxum and Matt. Pidge’s blush faded as she grinned evilly up at Plaxum. “We’ll take it.”

Plaxum raised an eyebrow. “It’s fifteen bucks… What are you going to do with it?”

Pidge’s evil grin turned into an evil smile, Matt joining her in smiling evilly.

“We’re going to prank an old friend,” Matt said while holding out a ten and a five.

Plaxum burst out laughing as she took the money. “Well, have fun with that.”

“We will,” Pidge ensured before breaking the evil demeanor, laughing too as she grabbed the Tickle Me Elmo she’d touched. “See you tomorrow, Plaxum,” she said as she turned and waved while smiling over her shoulder.

“See you tomorrow!” Plaxum beamed back with a small wave before heading off back further into the tent.

Pidge and Matt made their way through the rest of the festival, which there wasn’t much left of that they hadn’t already seen. They came to a tree and stopped for a moment, both of them looking up at the glistening snow-covered leaves in silence. This tree was a special tree for them. It was where they would always finally stop to rest at while their mom and dad tracked them down, spilling secrets and laughing until their mom and dad found them.

“Have any secrets to tell?” Pidge spoke up, grinning at Matt.

Matt paused, still staring at the leaves. “I think I’m gay. Or bi, I dunno.”

Pidge widened her eyes but turned to the leaves again. “Why do you think that?”

Matt sighed. “I’m interested in a guy.”

“Are you now?” their mom jumped in with a wide smile.

Matt startled, instantaneously turning bright red as his eyes were brought down to look at his mom.

Their mom grinned and gently encouraged, “I’m happy for you.”

Pidge, being his younger sibling, smiled tauntingly. “So, what does he look like? What’s he into? Is he a nerd with no life like you?”

“Hey! You don’t need to be so nosy after I tell you that,” Matt exclaimed, baffled with embarrassment. He then muttered, “And no need to be so rude.”

Their mom laughed lightly. “I’m interested in the answers to Pidge’s questions.” She eyed Pidge. “Except the last one.”

Matt sighed. “He has black hair and likes space and board games.” He crossed his arms. “That’s as much as I’m saying for now. If things happen, I’ll let you guys know more about him.”

Pidge groaned and rolled her eyes. “So he  _ is _ a nerd with no life.”

“Shut up!” Matt yelled with a huff as he turned away from her, pouting.

Their mom laughed again. “Pidge, don’t be so mean, and Matt, no need to be so sensitive. You used to be the same about Pidge’s younger crushes.” She winked at Pidge, Pidge herself turning red and looking away while fiddling her thumbs.

“You two ready to go, then? You’ve already been running around for two hours and we’ve got to plant that thing.” Their mom pointed at the Elmo.

Pidge looked to Matt. “I think so.”

Matt looked at her and nodded with a grin in exchange before looking at their mom. “I think so too.”

They made their way to the car and climbed in, heading to the school. Thoughts of crushes plagued Pidge’s mind due to her mom’s comment, specifically thoughts of silver hair and dark skin and blue eyes and a good yet odd taste in fashion along with an obsession over cats and making childish jokes like the rotten egg thing. Pidge sighed to herself while staring at her twiddling thumbs, annoyed with how she was feeling. She wasn’t sure whether to be hopeful or whether to be set on being pessimistic so she wouldn’t be let down if nothing happened ever.

“You okay?” her mom questioned from the driver’s seat.

Pidge sighed again, deciding to finally allow for some help. “I’m gay, too, which you guys already know, but…” She took a deep breath. “I’ve finally become really interested in someone, but I don’t know what to do.”

“Why don’t you know what to do?” Matt joined in.

Pidge sighed yet again, looking out the window. “I’m not sure whether to risk it or sit back and not do anything.”

“I’m sure that if Allura is into girls, she’ll be into you sooner or later,” her mom beamed.

Pidge lowered her eyes at the rear-view mirror, where her mom could see her. “I never said it was Allura.”

“We both know it’s Allura you’re crushing on,” Matt said with a snicker. “You’re not sly about it.”

Pidge groaned and looked back out the window. Their mom giggled.

“Follow what your heart wants, but don’t get yourself hurt.” Their mom paused before adding, “That goes for you both.”

“How helpful,” Pidge sarcastically muttered, neither Matt or their mom hearing it.

They pulled into the school parking lot, all three sets of eyes sparkling and turning to the Elmo sitting next to Pidge.

“Do you have scissors?” Matt asked.

Their mom opened her glove department and pulled out a pair of safety scissors, signaling Pidge to give her the boxed toy. Pidge handed Elmo forward, her mom quickly cutting the box open and taking the Elmo out.

“How do you put it into its normal mode?” their mom hummed, looking all over to try and find a switch on the thing.

“Let me see if I can find it,” Matt offered.

Their mom handed Elmo over, Matt feeling it all over to find its switch. He opened the velcroed switch, changing it to react how it would normally—to any nearby movement—but he immediately switched it again, then turning it to their mom. “We should turn it fully off while we’re sneaking in, then turn it on once we’re in the classroom.”

“Good plan,” Pidge cackled.

“On three?” their mom suggested.

Pidge and Matt nodded, watching their mom eagerly.

“One, two,” their mom counted, then whispering, “three!”

The three of them quickly got out of the car, walking into the front doors of the school and hurrying up to Shiro’s classroom. The front doors were always left unlocked, making pulling pranks easy; Lance, Hunk, and her and used this to their advantage many times earlier in the year, being deemed the infamous Garrison Trio. The new family trio crept down the hall to Shiro’s classroom, no security guards or janitors to be seen. The hallways were lit but all of the classrooms were dark and there was no one around. It was a typical Sunday at the school. At least, it was, until the family trio came in.

They got to Shiro’s classroom door. Pidge tried the doorknob with no luck. Their mom pulled a bobby pin out of her coat pocket, holding it out.

“You keep a bobby pin in your pocket?” Pidge whispered as she took it and began her lock-picking.

“I have a hair tie, too,” her mom whispered back.

In a few seconds, Pidge had the door unlocked and opened. The three snuck in and closed the door behind them, turning on the lights. Matt opened the flap to the Elmo’s switch and put it on its normal setting, it immediately beginning to talk in its demonic voice. Pidge and Matt glanced at each other with malevolent smiles. Their mom, on the other hand, walked to the front of the room and began going through Shiro’s drawers, pulling out an index card and a black Crayola marker. While she was walking back, Pidge took Elmo and set it standing up on the table nearest to the classroom door.

“Man, it brings back memories being in here,” Matt sighed happily, looking around. “Shiro and I took English in here.”

Pidge snorted. “Well, it’s Shiro’s history room now.”

“What are you doing?” Matt asked as they mom came up and bent over the table.

Their mom quickly scribbled on the index card. “I’m leaving a note so Shiro knows who’s responsible for this.” She giggled. “It’s the least bit of compensation we can give.”

“Psh,” Pidge huffed. “He doesn’t need compensation. Hopefully he’s not enough of a baby to be scared by it.”

“You very well know that he is,” their mom warned, standing up and capping the marker. She then snickered. “We all know he is.”

She lifted up the Elmo, the Elmo laughing pointlessly as she moved it to put the index card under its feet. She quickly ran to the front of the room and put the marker back in its drawer as Pidge turned the lights back off and Matt opened the door.

“Let’s go,” Matt whispered.

The three rushed out, the maniacal laughter of the toy fading as they shut the classroom door. They quickly hurried back to the parking lot, avoiding being caught by the security guards. All of them couldn’t stop gigging. Even their mom.

Once they got outside, Pidge looked to the sky and hoped her dad was laughing somewhere, too.


	27. "Damn those hurricane eyes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's 2:06 in the morning and i finished the chapters literally twenty minutes ago and my bf texts me like 'good job, have you posted them' bitch it's 2 in the morning you better be damn thankful i am taking the time i could be sleeping after a lot of writing to fucking copy paste from google docs which takes FOREVER to do because you wanted to read shitty outdated memes and bad pickup lines  
> anyway  
> for y'all normal readers  
> this update is only 2 chapters because of how the story flows, and next update is gonna be 5 chapters  
> again because of how things flow  
> also!! there will be a sequel but not told from pidge's or allura's perspective and instead from lance's, which should definitely make sense after next week's update ahaha  
> alrighty so here we go, chapter 27 and 28!! hope you enjoy!!  
> song for 27 is "I Can't Make You Love Me" by Dave Thomas Junior  
> (edit it was 2:11 once i actually got to posting lmao)

Shiro was not exactly pleased the next morning when he came into his dark classroom and was greeted by Tickle Me Elmo lighting up and talking. And the other teachers were not exactly pleased to hear Shiro scream at 6:45 in the morning on a cold December Monday. The ‘Sorry, Colleen’ note left under the feet of the Elmo didn’t make the experience any better for Shiro, apparently, as Pidge had guessed.

Pidge felt as though she would never hear the end of it, which wasn’t what she needed after having yet another nightmare about her father and having her feelings for Allura haunting her in the back of her mind.

“Pidge, are you listening? You could have hurt someone, scaring them like that!” Shiro continued his lecture that had already lasted two straight minutes, slowly taking up their passing time before class started.

Pidge finally sighed, having had enough of this at 7:48 a.m. and wishing the day was over already when she’d only been at school for ten minutes. “It wasn’t just me. Matt was in on it, too.”

Shiro’s eyes widened. “Matt? _Matt_ was a part of this?”

Pidge yawned with a nod.

Shiro’s eyes fell into a form that suggested doom was headed someone’s way. “Class,” he announced as he walked to his desk. He opened a drawer and grabbed his cell phone, telling the students, “I need to make an important call. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He walked out, the expression of doom building as he made his way to the door. “Hunk, you’re in charge while I’m gone.”

Hunk blinked, then pointing at himself. “Me?”

His response was the door shutting behind Shiro. Pidge sat down with a sneer on her face.

Hunk raised an eyebrow at her. “What did you do to make Shiro need to call someone?”

Pidge pointed to the Tickle Me Elmo, which was now sitting on Shiro’s desk staring the class down with its eyes of terror. “Matt and I put that near the door yesterday for Shiro to find this morning.”

Hunk hummed as he knit his eyebrows and glared the Tickle Me Elmo down. “So that _was_ you.”

“You bet,” Pidge proudly sighed, kicking her feet up and sinking in her seat.

Lance yawned as he entered the classroom, sitting down next to them. He opened his mouth to greet Hunk and Pidge but instead squinted and went on to say, “What the fuck is _that?_ ”

Pidge smiled her evil smile. “It’s a Tickle Me Elmo that Matt and I planted in here.”

“Is that who Shiro’s yelling at over the phone? People can hear it all the way down the hallway—stuff about responsibility and not pulling pranks or encouraging them, blah blah blah,” Lance droned, then rubbing his eyes and sighing. He put his cheek on the table. “It’s too early for this.”

Pidge snorted. “Stayed up too late?”

Lance simply groaned and sat up straight to stretch his arms and back.

Hunk gulped. “Is he going to get rid of the Elmo?”

Pidge sneered again. “Maybe I should carry it around with me all day. Turn it on in the hallways. Scare the shit out of everyone.” She nudged Lance’s arm with her elbow. “You in?”

Lance waved his hand and shook his head. “Nah. I’m going to go to the nurse’s office and sleep some more.”

“What were you up so late for?” Hunk questioned.

Lance yawned again. “Calling Keith.” Both Pidge and Hunk burst out laughing. Lance turned red and exclaimed, “What?!” He crossed his arms and looked away.

“Oh, why Keith, you’re as lovely as well-salted fries,” Pidge said to Hunk in a dramatic but serious tone to joke around and continue teasing Lance.

“Lance, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’ll give you a discount on the bill because of how much I love you,” Hunk joked along before both of them couldn’t take it and died laughing.

Lance huffed, grumbling, “We were just talking. We’re just friends.”

Pidge’s and Hunk’s laughter seized with wide eyes.

“You’re not dating?” Pidge questioned.

Lance sucked in a breath, avoiding eye contact and not saying anything. Pidge looked to Hunk with a concerned look, Hunk putting a hand on Pidge’s arm to silently tell her not to push any farther. The three of them sat in silence for the rest of class, which Pidge didn’t appreciate for many reasons. She was worried about Lance, but the silence also let her mind pester herself about Allura. Allura took over her mind. Her mom’s advice rang over and over again. Her thoughts were a mess.

That’s all her school day was. There was only one class left; Pidge had gotten through tech, chemistry, and gym without having to interact with Allura, at least, which was slightly easing in the moment. On top of that, Allura had texted her during lunch, asking to come over for tutoring at 7 that evening. Pidge had agreed without much thought. It was the only time she had to collect herself and interact with Allura, so it couldn’t be that bad. But, as she walked to her last class of the day, she felt a pit in her stomach. She took a breath and took out her phone, texting Lance and Hunk in the group chat.

_Hey, you guys want to hang out in the library after school for a bit? I think it’s time we send another meme to the school. We haven’t in over a week_

Lance quickly replied.

 **_Losershooter_ ** **_to Voltron Club™:_ ** _meet you there at our usual table and we’ll decide which meme there_

Pidge snorted and put her phone away. Her last class passed quickly with the spark of joy having the two amazing best friends that she did with her. She was also hoping to talk to them about her feelings for Allura and what to do. Her mom’s advice didn’t feel detailed enough.

She sat down at the table with a sigh, getting both sets of eyes on her.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Hunk softly questioned.

Pidge took a slow, deep breath before responding.

“I love Allura.”

Both Hunk and Lance gasped.

“Whoa,” Hunk breathed out.

“You finally admit it!” Lance beamed, wrapping his arms around her. “I’m so proud of you!”

Pidge rolled her eyes. “Well, I—”

“Hey, what’s up?” Plaxum suddenly cut in, sitting down with them and grinning.

Pidge eyed both Hunk and Lance, shaking her head lightly to shush them both. There was no way she was discussing feelings for the girl who’d just broken up with Plaxum not even a week ago. She calmed herself to manage in front of Plaxum, telling herself that she didn’t need to do anything. She’d only met Allura two and a half weeks ago. They’d met December 1st, 2017, and it was now December 18th, 2017. Lance and Hunk started on homework with Plaxum, so Pidge took out her history notebook to fit in. But Pidge couldn’t stop the fallen feeling plaguing her chest. It was as though her heart had lost its beat, lost its glow, and now it was falling into the depths of the oblivion. She was back to being unsure of herself and how she thought of Allura. Could she really have fallen in love in just over two weeks?

“Okay, Pidge,” Lance sighed, pushing back from the table and crossing his legs while taking his phone out. Pidge snapped out of her trance and looked at Lance as he continued to say, “What are we sending to the school this time? Another Here Come Dat Boi meme?”

Hunk’s face scrunched. “That’s a dead meme.”

Lance clicked his tongue with a wink. “But not as dead as Harambe.”

Pidge slammed her forehead to the table and groaned. “Stop using old memes.”

“What about Ugandan Knuckles?” Lance went on.

Pidge continuously slammed her head to the table.

Lance let out a huff. “Okay, okay, I get it. How about a 9/11 meme?”

“That would get us in serious trouble,” Pidge groaned, keeping her forehead on the table.

Lance let out a sharp groan. “You aren’t making this easy.”

“What about something having to do with communism?” Plaxum jumped in. She snorted. “Communism and terrorism are the biggest memes. Communism probably wouldn’t get us in as much trouble if any, though.” She shrugged.

“Marxism is better than communism,” Pidge grumbled, still keeping her forehead to the table.

Plaxum, Hunk, and Lance continued exploring ideas of what to send the school. Pidge simply sunk back into remembering her nightmare, feeling the guilt seeping back in. Though, that was quickly replaced by her unsure thoughts. She was sure she got wrapped up in ocean eyes that turned into a storm she was now stuck in with no clear way out, or clearness at all. Everything was jumbled, and now Pidge was focused on Allura’s captivating blue eyes.

“Hurricane eyes,” she muttered to herself, making herself laugh lightly.

That’s what she’d gotten sucked into.

“Damn those hurricane eyes.”

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, Pidge lifting her head and taking it out. The other three were still arguing over what to send to the school, so she was going unnoticed. She checked her phone.

 **_Asshole of a Brother:_ ** _Hey, when are you coming home? Mom’s making us breakfast for dinner._

Pidge grinned, happy to get a text from Matt. As she went to type, her expression changed into confusion.

_You’re still in town? I thought you were left this morning…_

Pidge kept her phone open, watching her brother type. The thought of going home was a little relieving, Pidge needing the solitude. Texting her brother was making her feel a lot better.

 **_Asshole of a Brother:_ ** _Turned out I didn’t have classes today, so I went around town while mom was at work. I’ll be driving back later._

_Ah, okay. Can you or mom pick me up? No buses are coming soon._

**_Asshole of a Brother:_ ** _Yeah, we’ll leave in a sec._

_Thanks._

Pidge eagerly waited for her mom and Matt to arrive, wanting to leave. She didn’t want to socialize. Hell, she didn’t really want to tutor. She sighed and texted Allura while waiting.

_Hey, can we change the time for today? My family’s doing something at 7, so would it be possible for you to come over at 9 instead of starting at 9?_

Although it was a lie, Pidge needed more than three hours to recover and prepare. But Allura didn’t respond. Pidge’s eager waiting turned into agony. Finally, her mom texted her, so she excused herself from the table and headed out. The doors opened to a dark sky, almost below freezing temperatures, and a brisk breeze. She stood at the doors, squinting. Her mom’s car wasn’t anywhere in sight. A window rolled down, her mom giving a small wave. Matt was behind her in the driver’s seat.

Pidge walked over with a puzzled face and hopped in behind Matt.

“What do you think?” Matt questioned as she closed the door. “I got her a week ago and kept her in the garage while here.”

Pidge rolled her eyes and gave a small grin, looking around. “She’s nice.” She shrugged. It was just a car.

They drove off, and not even a minute later, Pidge’s phone buzzed.

 **_Allura:_ ** _My curfew is 10… Would you be able to sleep over at my place? I know it is a school night, but we can go to bed at a reasonable time and go to school together it should be fine, so long as that’s okay with your mum?_

Pidge twitched her nose at the word ‘mum.’ She sighed. “Hey, mom? Allura wants a sleepover.”

“Tonight?”

“Yeah.”

“Starting when?”

“8? 9?”

Her mom paused, looking over her shoulder to glare at Pidge. “You’re too young to _sleep_ with her, or anyone for that matter.”

“ _Mom_ —”

Her mother smiled. “But, I have no problem with you sleeping over at Allura’s. Just don’t stay up too late and be on time to school.”

Pidge grinned back. “Thanks, mom.”

Pidge texted Allura back.

_My mom said yes. I’ll be there between 8 and 9 if that’s okay?_

Pidge got a response immediately.

 **_Allura:_ ** _Absolutely! I can’t wait!_

Pidge couldn’t help but smile. She hadn’t had a sleepover in something like half a year, her last one being with Hunk and Lance. They’d had a bunch of sleepovers in tenth grade, but not that eleventh grade had swung in, they’d stopped having sleepovers. Even if Pidge didn’t want to admit it, she couldn’t wait, either.

“So, what can Pidge and I help out with for dinner?” Matt changed the subject.

The three got home, started dinner, Pidge did some homework, Matt played some video games, their mom read a book—it was a nice and quiet evening, which was exactly what Pidge had needed to settle her shitty mood.

Of course, that had to change once 8:30 p.m. came around.

The car pulled up to Allura’s house, stopping on the street. Pidge hopped out of the passenger seat, grinning at her mom while she held the door open and swung her backpack over her shoulder. “Thanks for the ride.”

“You’re sure you packed clothes for tomorrow?” her mom questioned.

Pidge nodded. “Yep. I’ve got everything I need.”

Her mom smiled. “Go have fun, kiddo. I think this will be a great experience for you.”

Pidge simply kept her grin and nodded again, shutting the door and heading to the front door, muttering a small, “Maybe,” to herself. She wasn’t sure what having a sleepover with Allura was going to be good or bad. She didn’t feel sure of anything.

The only thing she was sure of was knocking on the door. After that, she had no idea what was going to happen. She stood at the door, not knocking, not ringing the doorbell, not talking. She was scared. She was overjoyed. She was still being confused by her own head and heart.

She sucked in a breath, slowly letting it out and raising her hand.


	28. "Goodnight, Allura."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> note: a gray-ish mauve can be made by using pink and green in the right proportions ;)
> 
> songs for this one are "The One" by Kodaline and "Light The Sky" by Grave VanderWaal (since it's a longer chapter, two songs got me through it)

Pidge didn’t even need to knock; the door just opened.

“Pidge!” Allura yelled as she whipped the door open, proceeding to wrap her arms around Pidge. “I saw your mom’s car pull up from my bedroom window.”

Pidge giggled, wrapping her arms around Allura. Being in Allura’s presence and having Allura’s arms around her was much more comforting than she’d thought it would be earlier in the day. Allura letting go felt like warmth leaving her to bare, bitter cold. But, the warmth quickly returned as Allura grabbed Pidge’s hand and pulled her inside towards her room for what felt like the hundredth time now.

“So, what do you want to do?” Pidge asked as Allura pulled her into her room.

Allura let go of Pidge’s hand, humming as she went to her closet and rummaged through a bin on the floor. “How childish are you?”

“Childish?” Pidge snorted. “I ran around the winter festival yesterday with my brother and bought a Tickle Me Elmo to prank our old friend with.”

Allura turned while she stayed squatting in front of her closet. “A Tickle Me Elmo?”

“Yep,” Pidge laughed. “Lance and Hunk were proud.”

Allura giggled and went back to rummaging. “I can imagine. But…” She stood up, sticks and a long board-thing in her arms, “are you childish enough to build a fort?”

Pidge snorted.

“This _is_ a sleepover,” Allura added as she walked over and sat down on one of the beanbags, putting the sticks and board on the floor before flipping her table over. “What’s a sleepover without a fort?”

Pidge snorted again, though this time it wasn’t with a smirk; instead, she was smiling. “What are those for?” She pointed at the sticks and board on the floor.

“They’re for the coffee table. You can interchange the legs, or,” Allura picked up one of the sticks and fiddled with it and one of the legs already on the table, “you can put them together to make a tall table. The board is to make the table longer.” She looked at Pidge with a wide smile. “I thought it would be fun to build a fort using the table above our heads.”

Pidge’s smile was there to stay for the night, she could already guess. She grabbed one of the legs. “Mind if I lend a hand?”

“Not at all,” Allura hummed as she finished applying the one leg extension, grabbing another.

Pidge attempted to put the leg extension on one of the legs, easily catching on and helping Allura put the rest of the table together. They stood the table up, then grabbing the blankets and pillows off of Allura’s bed. They draped the sheet over the table, pulling Allura’s fuzzy blankets into what was becoming their fort. Pidge threw the pillows in, too, while Allura grabbed something else from her closet.

“Can you hold the blanket up while I wrap something around the table?” Allura asked while she went to her bedside table.

Pidge was simply standing outside of the fort. She grinned, despite Allura not looking at her to see. “Sure.”

Allura turned and stepped towards the fort, holding a string of lights. The lights were little butterflies. Little, mauve-colored butterflies. They were cute, which even Pidge had to admit—despite them being way too girly for her to want to own herself. Pidge held up the blanket so that one by one Allura had access to the table’s legs, the two of them moving together.

“Are you ready for Christmas break?” Allura asked as she began wrapping the lights around the second leg. “Do you celebrate Christmas?”

“Yeah, we celebrate Christmas,” Pidge simply replied. She wasn’t exactly sure how she should say that her family doesn’t do much during vacation times.

“Are you going out of town for Christmas?” Allura continued as she moved, done with the second leg and moving onto the third leg with Pidge following.

“No. Are you?”

“No,” Allura sighed. “Instead, I have to have my uncle, aunt, and cousin over. My dad insisted we host them, though my father didn’t like the idea.” She laughed a little. “My father lost the fight.”

“You have a cousin?” Pidge questioned. “I didn’t know Dr… um, your uncle had a son.”

“He’s much older than me. He already finished college,” Allura explained. “He’s staying with his family for the holidays.”

Pidge hummed and nodded her head.

“Oh, if you didn’t already know, the assistant principal, Mrs. Haggar,” Allura went on as she finished wrapping the fourth leg and went back to finish off the string of lights on the first leg, “that’s my aunt. They decided to keep their separate last names.”

Pidge stared at her, dumbfounded. “Janice Haggar is your _aunt?_ ”

Allura laughed lightly and she slipped the end of the string through one of the already created loops to ensure the lights staying up. “Yes, that is my aunt.”

“It was already bad enough that Principal Zarkon is your uncle, but to find out after all this time that him and Assistant Principal Haggar are married…” Pidge shook her head in awe, giving Allura wide eyes. “I’m sorry.”

Allura laughed again, moving out from the blanket Pidge was still holding up. She went and grabbed her books and a pencil. “Don’t be. Even though they are… unique… They’re my family.” Allura grinned at Pidge before turning off the lights in the room and ducking under the table. “I love them.”

Pidge shrugged and swung her backpack over her shoulder, entering the fort and taking a seat as Allura flipped the small switch placed somewhere along the string lights, the little butterflies lighting up and giving them a soft, grayish-pink light.

“Shall we get working?” Allura beamed. Even in the dimmed lighting, Allura’s facial features were stunning.

Pidge grinned and took out her notebooks. The two of them worked for a bit together, then splitting and doing their own things. Pidge didn’t like the silence, surprisingly. Thoughts of Allura stopped her from focusing on her work. She wanted to hear Allura laugh again. She loved glancing up and finding Allura glancing up at her two, both of them quickly looking away with pink faces, but she didn’t love the quiet. It was too awkward, her eager to say something, eager to confess for whatever reason. Luckily, she wasn’t stupid enough to just blurt it out. She snuck her phone out, which wasn’t hard seeing as Allura had her nose in her history textbook.

_Guys I’m at Allura’s for a sleepover and I don’t know what to do_

Pidge turned her phone’s vibration off, turning the phone off and continuing pretending to work. She made it so that she could easily see if her phone lit up.

 **_Cookie Monster_** **_to Voltron Club™️:_ ** _what do you need help with??_

_I don’t know what to do_

_Like_

_I want to tell her i like her_

**_Losershooter:_ ** _W H O A_

 **_Losershooter:_ ** _BOLD MOVE PIDGE_

 **_Cookie Monster:_ ** _you really want to tell her that??? I'm so proud of you_

_Well_

_Maybe not right this second_

_But can you guys give me an idea of how to compliment her but make her laugh_

**_Losershooter:_ ** _easy_

 **_Losershooter:_ ** _allura seems cheesy enough to appreciate the fun of bad pickup lines_

Pidge glanced up at Allura, finding Allura staring back. She quickly hung her head to avoid any more eye contact. She took a deep breath and continued texting Lane and Hunk in the group chat.

_Alright, can you guys give me one?_

She couldn’t believe she was actually going along with this.

 **_Cookie Monster:_ ** _try a pickup line that’s classic, like “are you from Tennessee? Because you’re the only ten I see”_

 **_Losershooter:_ ** _that’s s o_

 **_Losershooter:_ ** _d u m b_

_Perfect_

_Thanks, Hunk_

Pidge took another deep breath, turning her phone on. She looked up at Allura, who was grinning down at her textbook. Pidge sucked in a breath and let it out by saying, “Are you from Tennessee?” She looked up to see she had caught Allura’s attention. She grinned, her cheeks turning pink again, but she looked down at her own notebook. “Because you’re the only ten I see.”

Allura snorted first, then laughed lightly, then laughed hard. Pidge sunk in her seat, every ounce of joy in her souring as she caved in on herself. She had just made everything more awkward, not less. What had she been thinking?

“Did you get that from Lance?”

Pidge looked up with a small snort of her own, finding herself unable to not smile as a surge of joy revived her bloodstream from Allura’s lack of realization. It was clear Allura simply found it funny. And Pidge was more comfortable with that, somehow. “Hunk, actually. I wanted to make you laugh, and stupid pickup lines were what Lance and Hunk recommended.”

Allura grinned in the most sincerely honored manner Pidge had ever seen from anyone. “That’s so sweet, Pidge.” She went on to add, “I don’t like the silence either. Talking is much better.”

Pidge nodded, looking down at her phone again.

 **_Losershooter_** **_to Voltron Club™️:_ ** _how about “are you a fisherman?? because you’re a REEL catch”_

Pidge snorted, staying staring at her phone. “Here’s one from Lance. Are you a fisherman? Because you’re a _reel_ catch.”

“A _real_ catch?” Allura blankly muttered, confused.

“It’s a pun. Reel? R-e-e-l?” Pidge explained.

Allura broke into laughter again. “That sure sounds like something Lance would suggest.” Her laughter died down, though her beaming didn’t lose any of its brightness. “Hold on, I need to find one now.” She took her phone out, Pidge laughing now. Allura typed something, scrolled through a few things and then cleared her throat. “I warn you I’m taking my own spin on this since the original is dreadful…” She darted her eyes, her expression fading into what Pidge could have sworn was an instant of uncertainty, though she gulped and looked down at her phone. “I guess it’s true when they say that you are what you eat,” she looked up at Pidge with that bright smile, “because you’re a cutie pie,” and then she winked.

Pidge’s heart had never been overcome by as much embarrassment and excitement as it had just then, her entire body turning red. Not just her face—her entire damn body.

The two of them stared a little too long at each other, both of them red, before they both laughed together again. Once their laughter quieted, they exchanged glances again and looked away. Pidge wasn’t sure what to make of Allura’s actions and blushing, though Pidge did assume she was at least slightly embarrassing Allura. But, she got to hear Allura laugh because of it, so Pidge didn’t really have regrets for it.

“Since we both don’t like the silence,” Allura spoke up, “why don’t we watch something together?”

Pidge grinned at her. “Sure, sounds great.” Pidge let out a soft hum as she set her notebook to the side of her beanbag. “What do you want to watch?”

“Do you like crime shows?” Allura asked.

Pidge’s eyes sparkled as her devilish smile came to her face. “I _love_ crime shows.”

Allura got out of her seat, crawling a few steps to get to the other side of the small fort and push the blanket up to engulf the television too—the television becoming a part of their fort. “Have you seen Father Brown?”

Pidge’s face melded into a puzzled expression as her head tilted. “No, I haven’t heard of that one…”

Allura crawled back to her seat with the television remote in her hand. She smiled at Pidge, giving Pidge yet another gushing, warm feeling in her chest.

“You’re in for a treat.”

 

Pidge found herself opening her eyes, the ‘Continue watching Father Brown?’ screen displayed on the television. She was leaning on Allura, Allura’s arms wrapped around her while they were under a shared blanket and surrounded by pillows from Allura’s bed. Pidge nearly screamed. Nearly. She didn’t remember cuddling Allura while watching the show. And now she had fallen asleep with Allura. On Allura.

She took out her phone to have it blind her with its brightness, needing to turn the brightness down to see. It was 2:16 a.m., and they’d fallen asleep with Netflix on. She yawned, gently shaking Allura.

“Allura, wake up.”

Allura murmured a wordless murmur, slowly opening her eyes. “What time is it?” she yawned, turning her head to look at Pidge.

Their eyes met, not even a foot apart. Allura’s face turned red and she jumped away, retracting her arms from around Pidge. It was as though the warmth had left Pidge to the cold again, but she brushed the feeling aside.

“It’s 2:16. We must’ve fallen asleep watching Father Brown.” Pidge shrugged, looking away from Allura while Allura was looking away from Pidge.

“Well, you fell asleep on me after two episodes, but I don’t remember falling asleep…” Allura yawned and did a bit of stretching, looking at Pidge whole Pidge glanced back and forth between space and Allura. “How do you feel about sleeping in the same bed?”

Pidge’s face felt as though it was going to explode from all the blood rushing to it. She gulped and looked away. She had the opportunity to sleep in the same bed as her crush. Part of her was too nervous, the butterflies in her stomach and clouds in her head telling her to decline and offer to sleep on the beanbags while the rest of her ached to say it was fine and get into bed with Allura.

Literally, not metaphorically.

Maybe her body was also excited metaphorically. Just maybe. But she wasn’t going to pay attention to that.

“Um,” Pidge shakily gulped again, then smiling at Allura. “If it’s okay, I’d appreciate that.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “The beanbags are nice, but they’re not all that comfortable for sleeping…”

Allura giggled. “I can agree. My back is killing me.” Allura stretched some more. She yawned yet again as she turned the television off, looking at Pidge with a grin afterwards. “We should brush our teeth, get into pajamas, and sleep. We have school tomorrow.”

Pidge nodded in agreement, reaching into her backpack and taking out her Ziploc bag containing her toothbrush and toothpaste. The two climbed out of the fort and tip-toed out of Allura’s room, both of them giggling in whisper-like tones. They made it across the hall to the bathroom quite slowly to try and stay quiet and not wake Allura’s dads, closing the bathroom door behind them immediately once they were in. Both of them got their toothbrushes ready in the dark and began brushing.

“So, what did you think of Father Brown?” Allura asked with her mouth full of toothpaste and a brush, though Pidge could understand her.

“It was good. I’ll have to continue watching it on my own and introduce it to my family,” Pidge responded, her own mouth full of toothpaste and a brush as well. “My mom and brother are really into crime shows, too.”

“Crime shows are wonderful for relaxing with family and friends,” Allura commented.

“Agreed,” Pidge commented back.

The two of them brushed only for a short bit in silence, both of them too tired to brush for a full two minutes. They finished up and tip-toed back to Allura’s room, Allura closing her door so that there was only the slightest crack of an opening. She turned off the little string lights and turned on her bedside table’s light. Pidge hissed, her eyes not dealing well with the light. Allura groaned at the light. They looked to each other and lightly laughed at themselves.

They got changed in silence, Pidge hiding in a corner of Allura’s room while Allura changed on the other side. Did Pidge take a long time to take off her pants and put pajama pants on because she peeked over her shoulder for a quick glance of Allura with nothing but undergarments on? Yes. Did Pidge like what she saw? Absolutely.

Allura sighed, flopping down on her bed. “Do you sleep with or without blankets and pillows?”

“With to both,” Pidge answered, slipping her bra off and her sleeping t-shirt on. It was a Voltron shirt Matt had gotten her for Christmas a few years back.

“Alright,” Allura sang softly, getting back off her bed and pulling the sheet from the fort onto her bed before moving the table and grabbing the other pillows and blankets off of the floor.

Pidge stayed back and watched as Allura messily arranged things. Allura flopped on her bed again with a groan, this time laying on her stomach. She groaned, pulling blankets up and making herself comfortable. She patted the bed, signaling Pidge to lay down. Pidge did so, though she noticed Allura’s eyelids were still sparkling.

“Aren’t you going to take your makeup off?” Pidge whispered as she climbed in.

Allura groaned. “Too much effort. Too tired.” Allura groaned again as she shifted a bit and got more comfortable. Apparently getting more comfortable meant putting her head on Pidge’s shoulder. “Goodnight, Pidge.”

Pidge’s heart raced, her face burned, her heart soared, her face relaxed; Pidge was all over because it was 2 a.m. and she was in the same bed as Allura. She opened her mouth to say a ‘goodnight’ in return, but she was interrupted by her stomach being pounded into the bed by a large weight. After a cough, she found herself face to face with a big, fluffy white cat standing on her abdomen.

“That’s George,” Allura mumbled before burrowing her head further into Pidge’s shoulder.

Pidge hesitantly reached out a hand to pet the cat, the cat easily falling into her hand and deciding to lay on her. Pidge couldn’t help but give a little giggle before she took a moment of silence for herself, taking in Allura’s heavy breathing against her shoulder and George’s purring against her chest. It was quite relaxing, despite some of it being considered typically nerve-wracking. She couldn’t feel the nerve-wracking in that moment. All she could feel was calm, like this was the place she was meant to be. It felt so right.

Pidge smiled, eyeing Allura as she was drifting off into sleep.

Pidge reached over Allura, despite George not liking it and jumping off of her to go lay beside Allura’s legs. She turned off the light and settled back down, allowing Allura’s head to rest back gently on her shoulder in the same place again. Pidge grinned, running a hand through Allura’s hair quickly and getting a soft hum in return. The hum made Pidge smile, finally her returning to what she was supposed to whisper.

“Goodnight, Allura.”


	29. "Yeah, I'm okay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahaha  
> ahahahaha  
> have fun kiddos
> 
> song: "Beautiful Lies" by Birdy

No snow, no clouds, no rain, it was back to being a never-ending autumn in Garrison. Pidge sighed as she stepped into the history classroom, pouting over the fact that all the snow was gone. Her pout quickly turned into a blatant frown with lowered eyes, the Tickle Me Elmo staring her down from Shiro’s desk. She turned to Hunk as she sat down.

“He still has that on his desk?”

Hunk yawned. “Apparently. I think he’s getting revenge.”

“Probably,” Pidge said bluntly while peering around. She knit her eyebrows. “Where’s Lance?”

Hunk shrugged, taking his phone out. “He hasn’t been responding to my texts.” There was a glossy look in Hunk’s eyes, as though concern was clouding his version.

Pidge grinned to be encouraging. “He’s probably made himself so sick he’s too dizzy to look at his phone.”

Hunk raised an eyebrow and tilted her head at Pidge. “Made himself sick?”

Pidge smirked. “By staying up too late talking to Keith.”

Pidge cracked up and Hunk did too, though it wasn’t his usual laughter. It was a lot lighter. His eyes were still lacking his usual, warm-spirited vibe in them; he was very obviously worried anyway. Pidge didn’t know how to reassure him any more than she tried, which made her feel awful. But, she didn’t know what to do, so she left him alone.

Hunk’s warm vibe seemed to become fainter and fainter as the first two periods passed. Lance wasn’t in tech. Third was spent with Pidge worrying about both Hunk and Lance, unsure how to help either of them. Pidge texted Lance midway through third, a simple message checking in to see if he was sick, getting no response. The bell to end third rang and Pidge grudgingly got up from her seat, heading off to fourth period. Chemistry. She dropped her backpack, took her seat, put her arms and head on her desk, and let out a huff. She eyed the door.

The second bell rang.

Class was boring. It was relieving to not have to watch Allura and Plaxum ogling each other up front, though they still whispered and exchanged notes, which made Pidge grin. She was glad they hadn’t stopped being friends. She looked to the empty desk next to her, her heart dropping. She could feel herself losing her own general happiness over worrying about Lance. He was rarely sick, and he hadn’t seemed sick yesterday. He surely would have texted Hunk and Pidge if he was sick. Wouldn’t he?

Midway through class, footsteps approached the open classroom door. Naturally tan skin, blue eyes, and brown hair appeared in the doorway with a hung head and dragging feet. He gave the teacher his pass and came to the back of the room, sitting and slumping in his chair. Being closer, Pidge noticed his eyes were glossed over and gloomy too.

Pidge’s whole being lit up, happy to see him. She opened her backpack and took out a pad of sticky notes, quickly scribbling something down before nudging Lance’s elbow until he’d take it. He read it in an instant, shoved it in his sweatshirt pocket, and looked at the teacher. Pidge’s heart dropped again.

All she’d scribbled down was, ‘Are you okay?’

She sighed and looked at the teacher herself, attempting to pay attention for the rest of class. The bell rang, dismissing everyone to lunch. Pidge picked up her backpack and stood up, staring straight at Lance. He finally looked at her once he had his backpack over his shoulder and was out of his seat. He gave her a small grin.

“Yeah, I’m okay.”

Pidge was glad to get an answer. She grinned in return. “What were you missing school for?”

Lance yawned. “Slept in after a long night.”

“I was right!” Pidge exclaimed with a laugh. “You _were_ up late talking to Keith.”

Lance awkwardly laughed, clutching his backpack strap with his hand and rubbing his neck while avoiding eye contact. “Yeah…” His grin faded, a frown replacing it and the swirling grayness in his eyes fading the blue.

Pidge’s own grin faded, as did her hope. Something was really up. Was something really bad going on between him and Keith? Did she need to kick Keith in the dick the next time she saw him? Was there something else going on? Even though Pidge had a million questions, she didn’t pry. She knew that look in Lance’s eyes; now was not the time to pry. They walked together in silence, exiting the classroom.

Surprisingly, Plaxum caught up with them, grinning. “Hey, guys.”

Pidge grinned back. “Hey.”

Lance stayed silent. Plaxum looked up at him, concern flashing over her face for a second before she turned back to Pidge. “Class sure was more boring than usual today.”

Pidge shrugged. “It’s not the sub’s fault. He didn’t know he was repeating what we learned yesterday.”

Pidge was now certain that something happened that Plaxum found out but that Lance wasn’t telling her. Maybe even Hunk knew. Then again, they may have just been worried about him like she was. She took a deep breath to herself and kept her grin up. The light conversation went on with no input from Lance. They made it to the cafeteria and to the lunch table, where the three sat down. Though, today, instead of Pidge being sandwiched in between Hunk and Lance and there being no one else there like the loners they were, Plaxum sat on Lance’s free side.

And on Hunk’s free side sat Allura.

Pidge was seriously hoping for some more time talking to Lance and Hunk about her feelings for Allura and what to do, but both Plaxum and Allura were around. That wasn’t happening that day.

“Hello,” Allura sang. “I saw Plaxum join you three, so I thought I may as well accompany you, too.” She directed her smile at Pidge. “You’re much more fun than the artist’s table Plaxum usually sits with.”

Plaxum giggled, looking at Allura. “I can agree with that.”

Plaxum and Allura continued talking.

“Hey,” Hunk whispered to Pidge, “can we trade places?”

Pidge realized this would mean sitting next to Allura. She glared at Hunk. “I hope this isn’t to set me up.”

Hunk shook his head. “I want to ask Lance something.”

Pidge quickly got out of her seat, being in full support of Hunk helping Lance if he knew how to. Sure, it stung a little to be the useless friend, but she was glad Hunk felt he had a way to help. They switched spots.

“Why hello, rotten egg buddy,” Allura giggled.

Pidge snorted. She was happy to have moved seats. “Hello to you too, rotten egg buddy.”

Plaxum moved over a seat to sit next to Allura, the three girls striking a conversation, Plaxum questioning their nicknames and Pidge and Allura getting to tell the rotten egg stories. Throughout lunch, Pidge glanced over at Hunk and Lance, who were talking in low tones. Pidge noticed Plaxum glancing over, too. It stang. Something was clearly up that Pidge was in the dark about. Pidge took a deep breath and kept a smile on her face.

Which, in all honesty, wasn’t too difficult with Allura around to get distracted by.


	30. "Operation Cheer Up Lance!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> song: "Friends" by Hedley

Wednesday, December 20th. Their last day before Christmas break. Pidge sat in her history seat, kicking her feet up on the table and smirking at the Tickle Me Elmo. Boy, was she ready for a break after the hectic time she’d had since Thanksgiving break. And by the end of the day, she was especially ready for break.

Lance and Hunk both showed up, keeping her out of the conversation, again.

Lance didn’t talk to her in chemistry.

Plaxum and Allura joined them at lunch again, Lance and Hunk still keeping Pidge out of the conversation.

They didn’t say anything during gym; at least they had talked to her and acted normal in gym the day before.

Hunk didn’t even really talk to her during English class, the only class Pidge had other than gym the second half of the day with anyone she cared about—and it was just her and Hunk in Mr. Sendak.

Pidge reluctantly dragged herself to game club, hoping they’d finally stop leaving her in the dark or hoping Hunk would share his encouragement expertise. Knowing Lance, it wouldn’t be surprising if Hunk and Plaxum were in the dark, too. They were just better at being there for Lance, at being social in general. Pidge wished she could do more.

To her surprise, sarcastically speaking, Hunk and Lance were nowhere to be found in Mr. Ulaz’s classroom. Pidge still took her seat. She logged into her usual computer and began playing a mindless game, one of the stupid games she played when she had no energy. Either social and happiness energy or physical energy.

Hunk plopped down next to her, logging in. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Pidge sighed, her frown refusing to turn upside down. She was too worried, too confused, and honestly too selfishly hurt to put up an act.

“Lance can’t make it apparently,” Hunk grumbled, clearly not in a good mood either. “He claims he has to help his mom out.”

“Do you know what’s going on with him?” Pidge asked point-blank.

Hunk paused before he sighed. “No. I’m trying my best to get him to talk it out with me.” He paused again, gulping, before continuing, “I think Keith really hurt him.”

Pidge nodded. “Well, hey, if any of us can cheer him up and get him to open up, it’s you.”

Hunk grinned, looking at her for the first time that entire day. “Thanks, Pidge.”

“So, anything going on with you?” Pidge asked.

Hunk groaned. “Liona’s been on my back about crushes and dating.” He let out a huff. “I can’t even get myself to have a full conversation with Shay…”

Pidge snorted. “Well, you’re definitely crushing on Shay. Knowing Liona, she’s pressuring you without meaning to, huh?”

Hunk sighed, “Yeah.”

Pidge took the opportunity to cheer her friend up with self-deprecation. “Hey, at least your mom and brother don’t ship you with the person you’re crushing on that you didn’t even need to tell them that you were crushing on.”

That got a laugh out of Hunk. He looked to Pidge. “How come you haven’t said much to Lance yourself? It’s not like you to back off…”

Pidge froze for a second, then letting out the breath she didn’t realize she was holding and staring at her computer screen. “He’s in a place I don’t want to mess with.” She went back to mindlessly playing while she was feeling awful and confessing. “I’m scared me prying will send him into an even worse place.”

Hunk hummed, nodding in understanding as he went to his own game. The two stayed quiet for a bit before Hunk spoke up again. “How about we do something for Lance?”

Pidge raised an eyebrow, still staring her screen though. “What are you thinking?”

Hunk shrugged, also still looking at his screen. “I dunno, something nice. Something sentimental.”

“The mall?” Pidge input.

Hunk shook his head. “No, that’s too normal.” He took a second. “How about an arcade?”

“I haven’t heard about Lance stepping in an arcade since us three went to Chuck E. Cheese’s for Lance’s eighth birthday,” Pidge pointed out. She hummed. “Oh, what about an ice-cream place?”

“Plaxum already thought of that and took him to one to try and help.” Hunk sighed. “Didn’t work.”

“Is what’s wrong with Lance really just Keith?” Pidge questioned, suddenly changing the subject.

Hunk paused. The pause really worried Pidge. It was unlike Hunk to pause. Pidge’s mind raced. Maybe he did know everything going on with Lance. Maybe he knew and wasn’t telling Pidge. But what reason was there to not tell Pidge? Why would Hunk, Lance, and Plaxum hide something from Pidge?

“They had a  _ really _ bad falling out I believe,” Hunk finally spoke up. “But I don’t know the details.” He sighed. “Lance cares about Keith. A lot.”

Pidge’s anxiety eased, knowing it was true that Lance cared about Keith a lot. He hadn’t acted like he had about Keith about anyone he’d dated before. Pidge sighed. “Poor Lance. I wish I knew what to do for him.”

“Should we buy him a puppy?” Hunk suggested.

Pidge snorted. “I’m not sure his mom would appreciate that gift.”

Hunk hummed. “What about bringing over food and video games and crashing at his for a sleepover?”

“I have tutoring tonight,” Pidge grumbled, not liking the thought of having to deal with butterflies in her stomach after the already stressful day, though she lightened up afterwards, saying, “but maybe you should do that and I’ll join you late.”

Hunk shook his head. “It should be both of us.”

The two of them took a pause to think. Simultaneously, both of them jumped in their seats and turned to each other, Pidge grinning and Hunk smiling.

“You thinking what I’m thinking?” Hunk questioned.

“I think so,” Pidge smirked.

“On three?”

In unison, they counted before saying what they were thinking and breaking into laughter.

“One, two, three… Operation Cheer Up Lance!”


	31. "Who isn't worried?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> song: "Look After You" by Aron Wright

The two of them walked down the hallway towards the back door, ready to head home. Hunk had his phone out, texting his mom… whichever one, that was. Pidge simply walked down the hallway, a pit in her stomach. She hated when Hunk or Lance had something going on and were being stubborn.

“So, we invite him to the Red Top for 9:30?” Hunk checked again as he finished texting his mom, keeping his phone out.

“Yeah. That way, I’ll be done with Allura and fireflies will be out, so long as they didn’t hide away from the brief snow.” Pidge sighed, looking up in despair. “I sure hope this works.”

“Nann’s asking if you want to come over,” Hunk yawned. “She’s making breakfast for dinner, including pancakes, hash browns, and eggs. She also has a pie baking.” Hunk grinned with a hum. “Breakfast for dinner is the best.”

Pidge hummed as well, taking out her phone and texting her mom.

_ Hey, would it be okay for me to go over to Hunk’s for dinner before going to Allura’s for tutoring? And after that, Hunk and I want to take Lance out since he’s been… off… I’ll be home by 11. Is that okay? _

Thankfully, her mom immediately read it and responded.

_ That’s fine! Make sure to be home by 11. _

Pidge grinned, looking up at Hunk. “My mom’s cool with it. And hanging out afterwards.”

“Awesome!” Hunk beamed.

Pidge rolled her eyes. “You’re that excited about dinner?”

Hunk huffed, crossing his arms. “I didn’t eat lunch today.”

“And whose fault is that?” Pidge teased with a blank expression.

“I was too busy trying to talk to Lance,” Hunk defended.

Pidge shrugged. The two continued talking as they opened the doors and exited the school, entering the soft breeze and warm air. Hunk’s house was close enough to the school to walk to it within twenty minutes. Pidge felt much more relaxed after taking a walk outside, finding herself leisurely talking and laughing as they entered Hunk’s apartment building and went up in the elevator to the right floor. They got to Hunk’s door, Hunk reaching out and knocking.

The door opened, revealing two women—one of which very clearly related to Hunk, the other not. The one related to Hunk had the same hair hanging by her shoulders, the same shimmering sunny skin, and honey-filled eyes. She was also similar in build, with broad shoulders and being overall larger in weight. The one without blood relations had curly black hair kept up in a messy bun, tan skin covered by tattoos on her arms and chest, and hazel eyes. She had a bulky figure as well, except most of her bulk consisted of extremely defined muscle in her upper arms, back, and thighs. Both women simply wore t-shirts and jeans, though Hunk’s blood-related mom was also wearing an apron.

It made sense that everyone in Hunk’s family was a bit larger; they all had muscle and massive sweet tooths. If Pidge could guess, this was the second time this week they were having breakfast for dinner. But, along with their sweet tooths, they all had very sweet smiles.

“Pidge, it’s so good to see you again!” the mom with the apron, Nanette, pulling Pidge’s tiny figure in a big squeezing hug.

The other mom, Liona, let out a small laugh and leaned in the doorway with relaxedly crossed arms. “Been a while.”

“It’s nice to see you, Mrs. Nann and Mrs. Liona,” Pidge muttered into Nann’s arm while being enveloped.

“Come in, come in! I’m just about to get started on dinner,” Nanette bubbled as she let Pidge go and went back into her apartment.

Liona followed Nanette, the two of them saying something in what was presumably Samoan.

Pidge leaned to the side towards Hunk while looking at his moms. “Since when does Liona speak something other than English and Spanish?”

“She learned Samoan last month and hasn’t stopped speaking to Nann in it since,” Hunk chuckled, going inside. “It makes Nann really happy.”

Pidge hummed, following Hunk while listening as the two women prepared the kitchen and spoke in a language Pidge didn’t understand.

“What are they saying?” Pidge questioned as they walked towards Hunk’s room.

Hunk opened the door to his room, which was surprisingly tidy for a teenage boy’s room, and threw his bag on his bed before sitting on the floor. “Something about what they’re going to cook everything in.” He turned his personal television on, grabbing his XBox controllers from the shelving that the television sat on top of. “Call of Duty?” he asked as he also took a bag of chips from the shelf.

“Yeah,” Pidge sighed as she plopped down next to him and slid her backpack off, then picking up her controller and turning it on. “I could use some murder with how shitty things are right now.”

“Why are things so bad for you?” Hunk asked as he started up the XBox 360 and dug a hand into the chips bag.

Pidge sighed again as the game loaded. “Well, there’s not being sure whether to confess to Allura or not, and then there’s Lance.”

Hunk let out a long exhale. “Yeah, I’m worried about Lance too.”

The game started, Pidge giving another sigh while both sets of thumbs flew.

“Who isn’t worried?”

 

Pidge opened the shotgun door, putting her backpack on and looking at Liona “You really didn’t need to drive me.”

Liona waved a hand. “No, it’s nothing. Anytime.”

Pidge forced herself to smile, having a hard time feeling okay as the time to see Lance grew closer and closer. Something was more off than anyone was anticipating. She could feel it. That, or she was just overly anxious. One of the two.

“Thanks for the ride.” Pidge gripped the car door. “Tell Nann thanks for the delicious food again.”

“You are  _ always  _ welcome,” Liona beamed. She gave a small wave.

Pidge waved back before shutting the door and letting her smile drop, taking a breath. She turned around and walked up to Allura’s front door. This time, she did have to knock. The door was opened soon after.

“Hey!” Allura greeted Pidge and gave her a hug.

Pidge forced a grin. Even Allura’s hugs couldn’t help her feel better. Allura pulled back and led Pidge to her room. They sat themselves at the small table, as usual.

Pidge got straight to the point, hoping to not have to socialize at all if any. “So, what do you want to work on?”

“What’s going on?” Allura questioned while getting her textbooks and putting them on the table, not even looking at Pidge.

Pidge’s eyes bulged. “Huh?”

Allura sat down and gave Pidge a look of sincere seriousness. “What’s wrong? Something is obviously bothering you.”

Pidge gulped as her cheeks burned, her eyes glued to the table. She couldn’t believe Allura had seen through her that quickly. Frankly, it was embarrassing. Was it  _ that _ weird for her to jump straight into tutoring? “Um… Just drama with Lance.”

“Drama? Real drama?” Allura continued questioning, still staring Pidge down.

Pidge quickly glanced up at Allura, finding the need to look back at the table stronger than before. “Yeah. You haven’t noticed he’s been acting weird?”

Allura hummed. “I’d be surprised if anyone hadn’t noticed. He hasn’t quite been himself.”

Pidge sighed. “I feel like an awful friend for not really knowing what to do at school. Hunk’s been the one for that.” She didn’t know where her truth-telling switch was, but for the moment, it was on and she wasn’t thinking about what she was admitting.

“Sometimes, support isn’t necessarily about talking about it,” Allura put forward. “Your help may be best needed for distraction.”

Pidge sighed and bent her legs, pulling her knees to her chest and resting her chin on her knees. “I’m supposed to meet up with the two of them after we finish, but I don’t know how I’ll face him after feeling so useless.”

Allura moved behind Pidge and put her arms around her, putting her head on Pidge’s shoulder. This grip felt different somehow, as though this one had more feeling to it. This one got through to Pidge.

“I’m sure you’ll be fine. You’ve always got a way of charming,” Allura softly told her with a small giggle at the end.

Pidge grinned. It was nice to hear that again, that she was charming. Especially from Allura. The two of them sat in silence as they both closed their eyes. Pidge held one of Allura’s arms as her returning grip. They took quite a while, almost an entire minute, to relax into each other.

“I’m worried,” Pidge breathed into the silence.

Allura let out a small breath in return before lightly giggling again. “Who isn’t worried?”

Pidge sighed again, peering down at Allura. A rush of gratitude towards her friends filled Pidge. She took a deep breath and rested her head on Allura’s, shutting her eyes again and grinning. Pidge’s anxiety had vanished. Her unsure feeling about meeting Lance was gone. She was calm, her confidence restored. Allura’s hold helped more than she had first expected.

It was what Pidge hadn’t realized she needed until she got it.


	32. "It'll be okay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> songs:  
> for the first bit (before the break in paragraphs), "18 Years" by Daughtry  
> for the second bit, "Come To This" by Natalie Taylor

The Red Top had a dirt path behind it. The sun was setting, but it was a Saturday, so the three teens skipped along the path and followed it, curious of where it led to. The shortest one kept falling behind, having to push stomach-length strands of light brown hair out of her face and having to squint all the time.

“Guys, look!” the second tallest, or second shortest, yelled back to the other two while pointing ahead with a tan finger. “There’s a lake here!”

The tallest slowed, giving the girl a metal smile against dark skin—braces. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” the shortest huffed, pushing her hair behind her ears and squinting again. “Where’s the lake? How is there a lake back here?”

The tallest squinted ahead in confusion. “Lance, I think that’s just a pond.”

The second tallest gasped, his walking turning into running with major, childish excitement in his voice. “There’s even a bridge!”

The tallest and the shortest caught up to the boy already standing in the middle of the small bridge, the shortest still stuck squinting unendingly while continuing to push her hair behind her ears and the tallest leaning on the railing of the bridge.

“Yep. Definitely a pond,” the tallest commented while staring down at the water.

The shortest squinted over the railing. “Hunk, how deep is it? I can’t tell.”

“Probably about twelve or fourteen feet, I think,” the tallest estimated.

“You really need to get glasses soon, Pidge,” Lance commented.

The shortest groaned, squinting up at Lance. “I had no idea.”

Hunk chuckled while Lance crossed his arms on the railing and huffed, “Just saying.”

There was a pause between the three of them. Pidge sighed, putting her own arms on the railing while trying to make out the sky. It was sunset; it was supposed to be pretty. All she could see was a big blob of orange in the middle of streaks of green and blue below and pink and white above, the green and blue being trees and water whereas the pink and white were the sky and clouds right then.

She looked at Lance, whose face she could barely see the details of. “Have you figured out a way to come out to your mom yet?”

Lance sighed. “No.”

“Maybe get pink, blue, and purple flowers and put a note in it,” Hunk suggested.

“Or you could bake a cake saying ‘I put the bi in bitch.’ Seem like something you’d do,” Pidge offered with a shrug before a smirk took over her face.

Lance rolled his eyes, putting his chin in one hand. “You’re lesbian, aren’t you?”

Pidge nodded.

“How did you come out?” Lance asked.

Pidge shrugged again. “I just did.”

“Why not tell her plain and simple like Pidge did?” Hunk jumped in again with a smile.

Lance sighed, looking out at the water. “I don’t know. That’s… scary.” Pidge snorted while Hunk chuckled, both of them getting glares from Lance. Especially Pidge, which was blatant as he defended, “Hey! It’s not my fault I’m as open with my mom as you are, uh… Lesbean!”

Pidge knit her eyebrows at him. “Lesbean? That’s the best you could come up with?”

“Oh,” Hunk drew out in realization. He put his fist in his palm. “It’s because she’s short and she’s a lesbian.”

Pidge punched both of them at the same time. Perks of being in the middle.

“Okay, sorry, sorry,” Hunk muttered as he rubbed his arm.

Lance groaned, rubbing his own arm, and looked over at Hunk to change the subject and avoid being punched again. “How are the wedding preparations going?”

“Both Nann and Liona want me to be the flower boy,” Hunk grumbled, looking at the water.

Pidge and Lance both broke out laughing.

Hunk huffed. “It’s not my fault they don’t know anyone around with a little girl or boy.”

Pidge calmed her laughter, putting a hand on Hunk’s back. At that time, she was able to reach it up to his shoulder blade since she was done growing and he was still short enough. Unluckily for her, he wasn’t done growing. That aside, for the time being, she got to rub his shoulder without having to extend her arm much. “I’m sure you’ll be great.”

“I’m sure you’ll look amazing in a tux,” Lance flirted with a wink, making all three of them crack up.

“Middle school sure made it seem like high school would be hell,” Pidge commented, turning around and putting her elbows on the railing while looking up rather than having to stare at a blurry sun, “but middle school was the real hell.” She smiled. “Ninth grade has been cool so far because of you guys.”

Both Hunk and Lance looked down at Pidge with wide smiles.

“Agreed,” Hunk beamed.

“Diddo,” Lance added.

The three of them laughed as the sky turned purple.

 

Pidge checked the time. It was now 9:32 p.m. and neither Hunk nor Lance were in sight. Of course, she couldn’t see much in the dark. The only light around was the light coming out from the windows of The Rep Top behind her and the light from her phone. She sighed and put her phone away, shoving her hands into her pockets as well and staring up at the sky. It was dark blue already with sparkling stars everywhere and a detailed moon, which Pidge could see perfectly through her round glasses.

Footsteps approached, Pidge turning her gaze from the stars to fully-grown Hunk and Lance walking towards her. Hunk was smiling and waving, lacking any metal in his mouth, while Lance was slouching and hanging his head, looking at his dragging feet. Pidge’s heart dropped more than it already had while waiting, though she quickly reminded herself of the confidence Allura gave her and let out a sharp breath before smiling at the two boys.

“Hey.”

“Hey!” Hunk responded as he stopped in front of her.

There was no response from Lance. He stopped a few feet behind Hunk. Hunk and Pidge blinked at him for a moment, then looking to each other and both taking deep breaths and giving singular nods.

Hunk cleared his throat. “Want to go see the pond?”

Again, there was no response from Lance. Hunk looked to Pidge. She shrugged, stepping off the sidewalk into the grass and onto the small dirt path.

“So, what are your plans for break?” Pidge attempted to start a conversation as they walked along the path, stepping away from the empty city scene and stepping into a nature scene alive with the sounds of crickets and cicadas. “Break officially starts tomorrow, after all,” Pidge added as she looked around, appreciating all of the trees around her.

“Liona and Nann want us to host a big Christmas dinner with some of their friends. I get to cook all day!” Hunk sang, obviously excited to get to cook with his moms on Christmas. Hunk was never one to complain about cooking; it was a guilty pleasure of his that he didn’t talk about much.

Lance continued his vow of silence as he followed behind.

Pidge looked back at him with a half-grin, a saddened but hopeful grin. “Want to go watch the fireflies from the bridge?”

Still no response.

“We thought it might help us all loosen up a bit,” Hunk jumped in, smiling as always. “It’s been a stressful month, I’d say. We’ve made two new friends as a group, and Plaxum’s been hanging out more rather than with her artistic friends.”

“We haven’t even been able to come back here much since junior year started.” Pidge paused to give a light sigh and stare up at the sky. The sky hidden in patches by the trees was haunting, a pit in Pidge’s stomach forming. She wasn’t sure how to get Lance to talk or feel better, and seemingly Hunk was running out of ideas too. As they walked, the sky became progressively hidden behind the trees more and more, just as Pidge’s hope was progressively taken over by fear.

Hunk put a hand on her shoulder, giving her a look for a split second—a look of helplessness and hopelessness—before forcing a grin and pointing ahead, also looking ahead. “There’s the bridge.”

Pidge stopped for a minute, looking at the bridge. She flashed back to the first time she’d seen it, the blurry pink sky and Hunk’s and Lance’s blurry figures heading to the bridge and looking over while she ran and caught up with them. Pidge’s blood was turning stale, losing its flow. Her head felt heavier and heavier on her shoulders. Her lungs struggled to take in breaths. Her eyes were flooded by the darkened scene after remembering the past.

What had happened to their bright souls? Now all three of them had crushes they were worrying about and struggling with. All of them weren’t doing the best in school, whether it was bad grades or merely struggling with handling going to school. All of them weren’t as happy or energetic as they once were. What happened?

Lance swiftly walked past both Hunk and Pidge, heading to the bridge ahead of the hesitating two. Along with Lance walking past, a soft breeze lifted.

Pidge swore it was a sign from the heavens.

Hunk grabbed Pidge’s hand and ran, following Lance to the bridge. Lance did his usual, crossing his arms on the railing. Hunk let go of Pidge’s hand once they got on the bridge, going to his usual space as well and putting his elbows on the railing to hold up his face with his hands. Pidge stood in between them, also as usual, gripping the railing. She looked out, watching the fireflies lose their glow and regain it while the crickets and cicadas sang and the cattails and grass surrounding the pond swayed with the light wind. The stars and moon above were the only light around, making the scene very tranquil and inviting. Pidge felt everything in her ease.

Lance finally broke his silence. By merely grunting and grabbing his hair, shutting his eyes tightly for a moment before letting go of his hair and reopening his eyes. He shifted weight on his feet, gripping the railing himself and looking out again with squinted eyes.

“Hey, are you doing okay?” Hunk asked.

There was a pause before Lance responded.

“Fuck this,” Lance muttered, looking down at the water and getting Pidge to look at him. “Fuck life,” he said a bit louder, gripping the railing harder.

All Pidge could register was the body flying in front of her and the sound of a body hitting the water, tears flowing to her eyes while adrenaline rushed to her veins.

“ _ Lance! _ ” she screeched before throwing herself over the bridge.

She hit the water, everything becoming darker than it already had been. Her glasses had fallen off, though she didn’t care. She reached out in all different directions over and over again, vigorously trying to find Lance. She could barely see anything in the darkness, opening her eyes in the freshwater pond not helping her much. She kicked to go deeper, making sure she kept her cheeks puffed and her nose blocked without physically plugging it. She reached out again and again as she kicked deeper and deeper. Her hand suddenly brushed against a finger, Pidge giving another kick and grabbing his hand straightaway. The hand wriggled. Pidge’s stomach began aching, as did her lungs. She couldn’t hold it much longer. She was starting to lose feeling in her hands. The hand was able to break Pidge’s grip and the figure below her fell deeper into the dark water, while Pidge found herself beginning to float back up since she was no longer kicking. She came to the surface, her head breaking through the water. She began coughing, her body taking in the air. She took a few sharp, quick breaths to make her body settle so she could go back down. She took in a big breath and went to dive back in, though two hands grabbed her under her arms and pulled her up.

“No!” Pidge screamed, trying to break Hunk’s grasp as he pulled her up and over the railing.

Hunk placed her on her feet but didn’t let go. Pidge squirmed and kicked and pushed against his arms, though Hunk wouldn’t budge. The sounds of crickets, cicadas, and sirens in the distance filled Pidge’s ears while her eyes cried away the pond’s water and allowed her to see the still cattails and grass against the gently shifting water. Everything was blurred both by the tears flowing excessively down her face and by the lack of her glasses.

“No!” Pidge continued screaming, trying to squint and blink away the tears and try to see into the water. “No, no,  _ no! _ ”

“We’re sending everyone we can,” a voice suddenly said.

“Thank you,” Hunk said down to the floor of the bridge, where his phone sat on speaker.

The person, a 911 call taker, hung up on Hunk’s phone. He didn’t bother to bend down and grab his phone, to Pidge’s dismay. She continued screaming and trying to break his grasp while her vision became too blurred to even make the trees out. The sirens of emergency vehicles became louder, getting closer. Their lights were visible, Pidge finally giving up on pushing on Hunk’s arm for a second to wipe her eyes and make out the lights coming through the trees and reflecting on the water as they drove down the road next to the small forest area. Pidge continued crying in Hunk’s arms, going back to light squirming, though her body was getting tired. Hunk simply cried above the back of her head, Pidge feeling his tears hit her soaked hair in a steady flow.

Firefighters ran passed them, Pidge revamping her screams. The firefighters got into the water. It was a team of seven, two staying on the bridge with a net and five getting into the water—two of them keeping their heads above water and the other three diving in.

“NO!  _ NO! _ ” Pidge’s adrenaline kicked back in, Pidge aggressively continuing to scream and kick to try and escape.

The three firefighters resurfaced, an unconscious Lance in their arms.

“Let him go!” Pidge screamed at the firefighters. “Don’t touch him!” She wanted to be the only person to hold Lance. She didn’t want people throwing him into a net, not like this. She didn’t want them to take him away and leave her behind.

Hunk lowered his head in order to not have to look, crying into Pidge’s neck.

“Lance!”

Pidge kept calling out his name in hopes of hearing him say something. Anything. A stupid nickname, an idiotic pickup line, a defensive outburst, anything at all. But she was met with the firefighters talking amongst themselves to get Lance to the ambulance, paramedics now waiting by the bridge to take him, a bed ready. There was no laugh. There was no chatter. There was no smirk. There was just silence and a limp body. Pidge blurred out the firefighters and paramedics as she continued crying out his name and crying out, “No, let him go!”

“Pidge,” Hunk finally spoke up. Pidge squirmed harsher than before, nearly kicking Hunk in the balls. Which, right then, didn’t matter to Hunk. “Pidge, it’ll be okay. It’ll be…” Hunk paused, having a hiccup in his own crying before sniffling and regaining his voice to croak, “okay.”

Even if he made it seem like he was reassuring Pidge, she knew he was trying to reassure himself.

She stopped squirming and instead found herself shaking, her voice nearly gone and her face burning from how many tears had rolled down it. “No,” she whimpered as she quivered, watching the paramedics analyze Lance and roll him into the ambulance.

“He’s not breathing,” Pidge overheard one of them say.

“We’ll do CPR on the way,” another one said. “He still has a pulse but it’s faint, so we have to get moving  _ now _ .”

“No,” Pidge whispered as she watched Lance be wheeled into the ambulance.

The ambulance doors shut, leaving Pidge without even a blurry image of Lance.

“No,” Pidge whispered yet again, falling in Hunk’s arms. He finally let go a little, allowing Pidge to fall to her knees and then back onto her own feet.

A firefighter approached them, crouching down. Pidge could vaguely make him out, even as she turned her head to look at him. She could tell her was holding out a blanket, at least.

“Hey, everything’s going to be okay. Your friend is in good hands and has good chances,” the firefighter ensured. “You went into the water too, right?”

Pidge looked back down at the water between the railings’ wooden bars, where lights were still reflecting. She gave a slow, singular nod.

“You’re going to need to go in an ambulance yourself, sweetheart,” the firefighter gently said, holding the blanket out closer to her. “You must be freezing. You could be sick any second.”

Pidge simply stayed silent. As was Hunk.

“Can you come with me?” the firefighter spoke gently again.

Pidge didn’t look at him, but she nodded again and tried to get on her feet, which proved difficult. Hunk grabbed her hand and slowly helped her up.

“Can I go with her?” It was nearly impossible to understand him because of how harshly he was coughing from trying to talk while crying so hard.

The firefighter grinned and stood up, though Pidge couldn’t see it. But he heard the slight lift in his tone. “Sure thing.” He then turned back to Pidge and held both the blanket and his other hand out. “Let’s get you checked out.”

Another paramedic showed up by the bridge while the other firefighters headed back to the truck. Pidge took the blanket from the firefighter but didn’t take his other hand, instead walking away with Hunk still holding her hand.

“Hey,” the paramedic greeted with a peppy tone. Pidge understood it was to try and make light of the situation so that there weren’t any hysterical outbreaks from her or Hunk, but the peppy tone got on her nerves right away. “Are you able to walk to the ambulance on your own, do you think?”

Although Pidge was stumbling a bit, she nodded as her response. The paramedic led them to the ambulance, where another paramedic was prepping whatever it was—Pidge couldn’t tell.

“Please lay down. We’re going to have to give you an IV,” the Paramedic informed.

Pidge nodded, squeezing Hunk’s hand tighter. He rubbed her shoulder while the paramedics talked to each other and prepped Pidge. The IV went in, Pidge giving an audible hiss and squeezing Hunk’s hand even more.

“You’re doing great,” the peppy paramedic encouraged.

Pidge didn’t care what anyone said, she didn’t feel great. She looked to Hunk in distress. He grinned at her, which was more relieving than anything the paramedics or firefighters had to say since she could almost fully make out the features of his face. He continued rubbing her shoulder and holding her hand.

“It’ll be okay,” he whispered to her.

The ambulance doors closed.


	33. "I knew."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyone who's had more than one shot in each arm knows the pain  
> i know the pain

Pidge tugged on the baggy purple dress, showing it to Hunk with a grimace. “I hate these things.”

Hunk chuckled lightly from his seat next to the door of the room they’d been placed in for Pidge to get blood drawn; they were waiting on a nurse. The two of them both had dry, reddened faces from crying. Pidge still had no glasses; her mom was only just being informed that she was in the hospital along with Hunk and Lance.

Pidge continued groaning over having been forced into a gown and underwear they provided to be checked over by a doctor before Hunk could come in. “The only good part about this is that I got to shower and have dry clothes.”

Hunk chuckled again, pointing down at her feet. “What about the socks?”

Pidge looked down at the green ankle socks on her feet that had white grips. She shrugged, looking back up at Hunk. “I guess they’re good, too.”

The door was knocked on, a nurse popping their head in. He smiled, though Pidge couldn’t really make out his facial features. He had her sit in the tall chair on the other side of the room, which was nicely cushioned at least. Hunk came over and let Pidge hold his hand through it. Pidge had had her blood drawn before so she didn’t necessarily need Hunk’s hand, but she appreciated it. It had been a stressful night, and they were both running on adrenaline at the moment.

“Nice job!” the nurse encouraged while covering the inside of her elbow with a band-aid. He began jotting some things down on a slip that was placed on the blood tubes tray. “Another nurse will be in soon with some precautionary shots we know we should give. If the lab results show any other concerns, the hospital will notify you.”

“Thanks,” Pidge sighed, jumping out of the chair and sitting down in one of the three by the door.

Hunk joined her as the nurse left. The two sat in silence, holding hands for support. Pidge even leaned against Hunk’s shoulder. The other nurse came in with a tray of six shots, meaning three in each arm. And with everything going on, of course her arms were tense. Pidge had to stop herself from screaming by the end, nearly breaking Hunk’s hands from how tightly she was gripping them to make herself not scream.

“I’m so sorry,” the nurse apologized in her consistently soft tone, putting the last shot down on her tray. She took band-aids out. “Your arms are going to be extremely sore for the next few days, and I’m really sorry, but you’re going to want to move them. Otherwise, your arms are going to hurt for longer.” The nurse finished applying the band-aids and picked up her tray. “You did a great job,” she beamed before heading towards the door. “Both of your parents have been notified that you’re here. They’re on their way.”

Pidge allowed herself to shed a few tears once the nurse had turned her back, Pidge’s arms stinging more than she’d ever felt before in her life. She sighed and moved back to the chairs by the door. Hunk followed. Pidge, hissing at the pain, wiped the tears from her eyes before dropping her arms back down to her sides. Something was missing from the air in the room. Maybe it was a lack of lighting that didn’t hurt, or maybe it was a lack of any hope. Pidge couldn’t figure it out. Pidge couldn’t feel anything but the physical pain at this point. Her brain had gone on autopilot.

The nurse lingered in the room, futzing with the tray and cleaning off the cushioned chair before finally walking over to the door. Before opening the door, she turned to Pidge and Hunk with a solemn face—though Pidge hadn’t even bothered to look.

“About your friend, he’ll need to be hospitalized. He has a concussion and part of his spine isn’t in the right place, which presumably occurred from the rocks at the bottom of the pond if he actually kicked himself into them. They’re large rocks, you know.” The nurse tried to laugh the last line off, though neither Hunk nor Pidge even cracked a grin. The nurse cleared her throat. “He’s getting emergency back surgery right now and he’ll need quite a bit of physical therapy. But, he should be back to school in just over a month, and in the meantime, you can visit him here or at home when he’s discharged.” The nurse sighed. “The doctor told me to warn you that your friend will probably be in the hospital for at least two weeks since they need to watch his blood levels. On top of his spine not working and having a concussion, your friend is very ill from the water. I wouldn’t be surprised if you get very sick in the next few days, young miss.” There was no response from Pidge, so the nurse continued. “If you have a fever over 103° Fahrenheit, then please go straight to the E.R.”

The nurse was met with silence, so she left. Pidge sighed, sinking in her seat more. She couldn’t process everything she’d been told yet. Lance was getting back surgery? She wondered if he had gotten laughing gas. She thought she could have used some of it right then. She looked over to faintly see that Hunk was crying again. She put a hand on his, which was resting on his leg. Within five seconds, she lifted her hand away and instead wrapped her arms around Hunk, despite how painful that was for her at the moment. There another minute of silence.

“I knew.”

The whisper broke the silence like a blade of grass breaking skin. Or a paper cut. Or a cut from shaving.

“I knew, but I didn’t think he was depressed enough to be suicidal,” Hunk continued whispering as he sniffled and held his hands to his eyes.

Pidge didn’t say anything. She didn’t know what she was supposed to say. She didn’t even know what she was supposed to feel. Was she supposed to be angry for the two of them keeping whatever they knew from her? Was she supposed to feel empathetic because Hunk hadn’t predicted what would happen and neither had she? Was she supposed to feel sympathetic because now Hunk probably thought it was his fault? In Pidge’s state, the farthest she could feel was a tinge of sorrow. Otherwise, she was blank. Just blank. She felt blank like the white walls and white lights surrounding them.

“Lance was born from a rape,” Hunk finally whispered again after another minute of silence. He droned on in whispers broken by sniffling and coughing. “That was what had him so distraught yesterday and today. Before that, he and Keith had a falling out. And even before that, him and Keith were never official, it was just test-dating, and Lance was crushing on both Keith and Allura but he couldn’t tell you because you like Allura and he’s sure you have way more of a chance with her than he does and he’s rooting for you. He wanted to root for you. He also wanted things to settle more and work out with Keith. Just like his feelings, his grades were all over too and his mom was getting on his back about that. And I knew he was super depressed about finding out he’s the result of a rape, but I didn’t think he’d… He just… He just went and I… I just stood there while you went in after him even though you didn’t know what was wrong, and I… I just…”

“Hey,” Pidge spoke up gently, deciding that the least she could do was give him a bit of support even if she was feeling empty. “It’s not your fault. And it’s okay that you just stood there. It makes sense that you did seeing as you knew what was going on and didn’t expect him to do that. It’s okay. It’s not your fault.”

Hunk began balling, muffled sounds pouring into his hands along with his tears.

Pidge took a deep breath. “It’s okay, Tsuyoshi. It’s not your fault.”

Hearing his name made his sounds die down a little, though his breathing was extremely uneven.

“Take deep breaths.” Pidge was trying everything she could think of to get him to calm down.

Hunk had gotten himself to evenly breathe when the door burst open, a wide-eyed Liona pulling along a crying Nann.

“Are you two okay physically?” Liona questioned right away while Nann simply kept crying as Pidge moved her arms, allowing Nann to wrap her arms around her child.

“My baby,” Nann muttered while running a hand through Hunk’s hair. “I’m so glad you’re alright. I’m glad you’re both alright. I hope Lance is okay, soon.”

“You two don’t need anything else from the doctors or nurses, do you?” Liona asked.

Pidge shook her head. “Hunk hasn’t needed anything and I’m already done with everything they wanted to do.”

“What did they do?” Nann questioned in a voice that had the tone of a sorrowful pout, which Pidge assumed Nann had on her face. Of course, she couldn’t see if that was the case or not.

Pidge huffed before answering. “I had five different tubes of blood drawn and I had six shots. Three in each arm.”

“I’m so sorry.” Nann’s all-over-the-place pouting tone stuck. “That must be so painful.” She then turned her attention back to Hunk, speaking to him in Samoan.

“I’m glad you’re alright,” Liona said to Pidge in a low tone before speaking up and addressing Nann and Hunk. “Hunk, if you’re alright, we should get you to bed. You must need sleep after all this.”

Hunk sniffled and nodded his head, taking his hands away from his face for the first time in about ten minutes.

“Sorry to leave you like this,” Liona apologized, “but I need to get these two home and then I’ve got to run to the shop for an appointment.”

Pidge shrugged. “It’s fine. My mom should be here soon.”

Pidge went to grab her phone out of her pocket, quickly remembering she wasn’t in her clothes. It took her a second to realize she had dove underwater with her phone, on top of losing her glasses.

Hopefully the cause would get her out of being grounded.

“See you around, Pidge.” Liona gave a small wave as Nann hustled Hunk out the door, both of them still balling their eyes out.

The door closed, and Pidge was left on her own. She put her head back against the wall and closed her eyes with a loud exhale, a voiceless sigh. Surprisingly, the door opened again not even a minute later. Nothing was said, so Pidge looked over. She could vaguely see that it was her mother. She slowly stood up and took the few steps it did to go and reach out to her. Her mother stopped her, though, by shoving a box-like thing into one of her hands. Pidge immediately knew what it was and opened it, taking the contents out, unfolding them, and putting them in their rightful spot. Pidge was relieved to be able to see her mother’s face clearly. She shut the glasses case and threw her arms around her mother. Throwing meant slowly and hesitantly since her arms were really feeling the pain of six shots still. Her mother wrapped her arms around Pidge in return. They stayed silent for a good few seconds.

“I love you,” her mother whispered, breaking the silence. “I’m glad you’re all safe.”

Pidge looked up at her mother. She hadn’t realized it with the warmth her face had felt from being against her mother, but she realized when she was pulling away that she was crying lightly. Her mother grinned down at her with sorrow swirling in her eyes, letting go of Pidge and instead cupping Pidge’s face. Pidge let herself cry into her mother’s hands. There was another few seconds of silence between them, her mother wiping Pidge’s tears away with her thumbs as they came.

Tears finally stopped flowing and Pidge let go of her mother, wiping the last of her tears herself. Her mother held a hand out. Pidge took it with a sorrowful grin.

The woman looked at her daughter with a look Pidge couldn’t pinpoint as anything but pure love and sorrow mixed together. She took a deep breath before saying anything, giving her daughter’s hand a squeeze.

“Come on. Let’s get you home.”


	34. "It's only been three days."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys!! sorry for the week late update. my artist moved to denmark for college and my family took a vacation so last week just wasn't the week. but here we are again!  
> hope you all enjoy!
> 
> song: "Friends" by Hedley

Pidge’s phone buzzed. Pidge groaned, sitting up in her bed and rubbing her eye under her glasses with one hand while picking up her new phone from her bedside table with the other hand. December 24th, 2:17 in the afternoon. Pidge’s groggy look turned into a stern glare as she read her new notification.

**_Allura:_ ** _ Hey, Pidge. I know everything has been hectic, and I am very sorry to ask, but I was wondering if you would be able to get together for a bit today to do some tutoring since we didn’t get our tutoring in Thursday or yesterday. Are you free today? _

Pidge let out a groan, opening her phone to text Allura back.

_ Busy. _

It wasn’t a lie. She was busy running what had happened over and over in her head. She saw Lance hit the surface of the water over and over. She saw the firefighters over and over. She saw the paramedics over and over. And worst of all, she saw the times Lance avoided talking about Keith or when he seemed maybe a little too happy talking to Allura, or even when he was just down and wouldn’t talk to Pidge. How could she have been so oblivious? How had she not seen it coming?

Pidge put her phone back down and stretched a bit, her sour face growing in sourness by the second. She took one of her pillows and put it above her head, gritting her teeth and snarling before she threw it over her head and straight at her door. It hit the door with a small ‘thunk’ and fell to the floor. She picked up another, putting it above her head, though she paused before throwing it. In fact, she didn’t throw it. Her expression wavered, softening for a second as she stared at the pillow on the floor, before she bore her teeth again and pulled her pillow down, shoving her face in it.

“Stupid Lance and stupid Allura and stupid friends and stupid feelings and stupid teenagers and stupid hormones,” Pidge screamed her rambles into the pillow before taking it away from her face and holding it above her head just as before, continuing to yell, “and stupid, stupid,  _ stupid! _ ”

The pillow hit the door with a small ‘thunk,’ just as the other one had, and slid to the floor.   
Pidge audibly snarled again before falling back on her bed, staring at the stars on her ceiling. Footsteps came up the stairs, Pidge knowing exactly what was about to happen. Though, she was too slow to make any of it stop. Her bedroom door opened before she could even sit up fully, so she decided it’d be better to fall back after giving her mom a glare.

Her mom sighed, coming over and sitting beside her on the bed. “Katie.”

Pidge simply gave a groan.

Her mom sighed again, reaching a hand out and pushing strands of hair out of Pidge’s face. “I think you’ve been pent up in your room for too long.”

“It’s only been three days,” Pidge grumbled, still staring at the stars.

“Have you gotten texts from anybody? Is anyone free?” her mom questioned, continuing to gently fiddle with Pidge’s hair in an endearing motherly manner.

Pidge groaned again, muttering, “Allura texted me but that’s it.”

Her mom giggled lightly, taking her hand away finally and looking up at the stars as well. “Why not spend some time with her before Christmas tomorrow?”

Pidge groaned yet again. “I’d rather see Lance,” she mumbled to herself.

“Hm?” her mom questioned, clearly not having heard.

Pidge turned over onto her side, her back to her mom. “Nothing. I don’t want to see anyone right now.”

Her mom sighed, getting off the bed. “Alright, well, I’m going to go start making that pie for tomorrow. Matt’s going to visit, so we’re having our traditional blueberry pie!”

Her mom’s attempts at cheering her up were futile. Silence fell between them, her mom’s spirit dropping.

“Don’t sulk for too long,” her mom warned gently before leaving the room, closing the door behind her.

Pidge turned back over, staring up at the stars again before raising her head and staring at the pillows on her floor—now sitting away from her door thanks to her mom having opened the door. Pidge grunted while putting her head back down. She sat up and proceeded to stand up, grabbing her pillows off of the floor and putting them back on her bed. She looked over at her phone, surprised Allura hadn’t sent a response. Something stung in her chest, though she ignored it, sitting back down on her bed and taking her phone into her hands. She opened it and went to her photos, opening a folder she had labeled ‘Lance’ and had compiled in the past few days. It consisted of every picture she had with Lance somewhere in them. Some of them dated back to eighth grade, even, when they’d just met and didn’t know each other at all, but Lance had been infamous for being a heartbreaker and, Pidge being Pidge, she’d decided to investigate him. Of course, that meant that once she had taken enough pictures of him with all different girls, she had confronted him. And, Lance being Lance, he found it funny and instantly gave her his phone number so they could talk over the summer before high school started.

Being reminded of how she learned of Lance’s existence hurt. Being reminded of how Lance learned of her existence hurt. Being reminded of younger, happier, less all-over-the-place years hurt. Seeing Lance smiling hurt.

Seeing Lance hurt. Even if it was digitally.

Pidge sighed, grinning sorrowfully at a picture of her, Hunk, and Lance all smiling together in ninth grade. It was a picture taken behind The Red Top. She wished she could go back to The Red Top and see Lance for a diner meetup, even though Saturday had already passed. She wanted to smile and hug him at the same time as she wanted to cry and punch him. All in all, she just wanted to see him.

A tear trickled down Pidge’s face, turning her phone off as her grin dropped. She took a deep breath and thought over what to do with her options: invite Allura, don’t invite Allura. She began mumbling to herself. “Pros: she’s beautiful, gives amazing hugs, has an angelic voice, and has a comforting presence. Cons: she makes me uneasy, I want to kiss her half the time, my chest and stomach ache around her.”

Pidge took another deep breath and turned her phone back on, going into her messages with Allura.

_ Actually, do you think you could come over? _

Pidge wasn’t sure whether to be elated or angry that Allura immediately began typing once that message sent, muttering, “Why couldn’t she have just responded before?” as she watched Allura type and awaited the response.

_ Absolutely! Be there in ten. _

Pidge grinned, turning her phone off and laying down. She dropped her phone on her chest and rubbed her face. After another minute of staring at the ceiling, she turned her phone back on. Watching cat videos was a better pass-time than contemplating the meaning of life; even Pidge knew that.

“Pidge!” her mom called upstairs finally. “Someone’s at the door. My hands are covered in dough. Can you get it?”

Pidge groaned, feeling too lazy to get up, but getting to see Allura was incentive enough to get her up and downstairs. She got out of bed and headed down the stairs, yelling to her mom, “I gave in and let Allura come over.”

“Good! I’m glad!” her mom yelled back from the kitchen.

Pidge sighed as she approached the front door. She was reaching out to grab the doorknob when the door suddenly burst open, Hunk storming passed her followed by an annoyed Allura and, not far behind, a grinning Plaxum and a blank Keith. Pidge shot her head around, staring Allura and Hunk down with knit eyebrows and a squint.

“What’s everyone else doing here?”

“You need to stop being so depressed and locking everyone out,” Hunk chastised with arms behind his back and narrowed eyes. “Instead,” he held out a wooden basket, “you should help us make a gift basket for Lance and come with us to visit him during the evening visiting hours.” Hunk proudly grinned, putting his arms down. “I already called Sofia and told her our plan.”

Hearing Lance’s mom’s name stung a lot more than she’d expected. The new stream of tears running down her face also stung more than she’d expected.

Hunk put the basket down and rushed over, hugging Pidge tightly. Allura and Plaxum joined in, giving a group hug. Keith kept his distance, unsurprisingly.

“You shouldn’t keep yourself cooped up when you’re depressed,” Hunk went on while the group hug continued. “That’s negative coping! That doesn’t help you. Plus, we need help with the basket.”

The group hug broke, Pidge wiping her tears and taking a deep breath to calm herself. The hug helped a lot. “Okay, what can I do?”

“Well, we’re all making personal gifts. My dad has an odd obsession with knitting Christmas sweaters, so I learned to knit when I was young,” Allura jumped in with a grin. “I thought I’d knit Lance a stocking saying ‘Sharpshooter’ above his name, which Hunk informed me is an endearing term between the three of you.”

It was the username Lance used anywhere—Steam, Discord, Skype, Gmail, even Netflix. Hence why she and Hunk got the idea of calling him Losershooter when he fucked up in gym.

“I made a shirt and a hoodie with Lance’s mom,” Plaxum added. “I wrote ‘Sharpshooter’ on the hoodie using silver glitter and fabric glue.”

Hunk sighed, pointing at Keith. “Keith’s putting in flowers and I suggested a love letter, too, but he hasn’t agreed to it yet.”

“Aw!” Plaxum and Allura chimed while Pidge considered writing one herself.

It was Christmas, why not write one and confess?

“That’s so sweet!” Plaxum bubbled, interrupting Pidge’s thoughts.

“That’s adorable!” Allura gleamed.

Both of them had a daunting sparkle in their eyes. Pidge merely rolled her eyes, shoving her hands in her pocket and cursing herself internally for even considering writing a love letter.

“It’s not adorable,” Keith growled, looking away. Although he was bright red, he still had his average blank look.

“Yes, it is,” Allura giggled with a wide smile.

“I already got some of Lance’s favorite candies from the grocery store,” Hunk put in, bringing them back to the real subject at hand.

It slowly hit Pidge that she had absolutely no idea what she could  _ make _ for Lance. She couldn’t knit. She couldn’t sew. She didn’t have time to go buy something. As her nerves rose, it dawned on her that Hunk’s stern look had turned into a confident grin. She knit her eyebrows again. “What’s the look for?”

Hunk crossed his arms with a short hum. “You’re going to help me bake.”


	35. "Where some of the problem lies..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> song: "Look After You" by Aron Wright

When Hunk said she was going to help with baking, Pidge didn’t think she’d be stuck decorating cookies, but that was probably for the best seeing as Pidge nearly burned down the house any time she tried cooking or baking. After being given Pidge’s mom’s permission and putting her mom’s own baking on pause, Hunk immediately began baking, leaving Pidge with nothing to do but sit on a stool and wait.

Hunk sighed as he closed the oven, setting a timer before walking over to the counter and looking at Pidge from the other side. He looked around, making sure that no one was listening, and no one was; Plaxum was busy making a card from scratch and Allura was finalizing her stocking, though mostly, Plaxum and Allura were bugging Keith about the love letter suggestion. Pidge couldn’t help but stare at Allura’s bright smile and be overwhelmed by a warm sensation, and then she’d see Keith again and everything would drop—even if she wanted to not blame him for Lance’s action, she couldn’t help it.

Hunk grinned at Pidge, talking in a low tone. “Hey, just so you know, things between Lance and Keith cleared up a bit.”

Pidge turned to Hunk, eyes widened. “Really? How did that happen?”

“Keith visited him and they talked about everything that happened with Lance and how Lance has been doing.” Hunk sighed. “But, they left on a low note since neither of them said anything about what to do about their relationship, so… That’s why I suggested a love letter.”

Pidge nodded and hummed in agreement, eyeing Keith again. And she still couldn’t calm herself from setting on fire and glaring daggers at him.

Hunk put a hand on Pidge’s head and ruffled her hair slowly, getting her attention. Hunk smiled his bright smile that could melt and reassure any heart. “Try to forgive him. They’re both just teenagers like you and me.”

Pidge burst into fire again and now glared daggers at Hunk. “How can you forgive someone who hurt Lance enough he became  _ suicidal? _ ” she angrily whispered.

Hunk gave her a stern look, whispering back, “Lance  _ is _ at fault for his actions, but I’m sure you know that. Don’t go mamabear on Keith for something he had very little control of and didn’t want to happen either.” Hunk sighed again, taking his hand off of Pidge’s head and glancing over at the three fiddling with the basket and its decorations and contents while still whispering to Pidge. “None of us wanted it to happen.”

The oven beeped, meaning Hunk could take out the cookies now. Pidge sighed, waiting for the cookies to cool as Hunk put another batch in and reset the timer. Pidge was tempted to take out her phone, but it hadn’t buzzed, so she knew she had no new messages. Instead, all she could do was angrily tap her finger on the counter while resting her head in her hand. She didn’t appreciate Lance texting Hunk but not her. Then again, she’d been too afraid to try and text him—too afraid to hear how he was doing. She knew she was at fault, too.

Hunk came over again and put a hand on Pidge’s shoulder, getting her attention again. Hunk grinned. “Lance wanted me to tell you to not worry about his rebound crush on Allura. And don’t be afraid to text him.”

Pidge teared up hearing that. She hated having psychic best friends. Or well, best friends who all knew each other well enough it was easy to read each other given their situations.

Keith suddenly came over, sitting on the stool next to Pidge with a groan. Both Pidge and Hunk put their wide eyes on him. Keith tapped a pen against his forehead, staring down at a blank piece of looseleaf paper. Pidge found herself grinning.

She took a deep breath, shoving her mamabear sense down before saying anything. She smirked. “So, you  _ are _ going to write a love letter?”

Keith sighed. “Well, when I went to see him in the hospital on Thursday, we talked. A lot. Somehow we didn’t address the romantic aspect of our relationship, so I… didn’t know what else to do.” Keith nearly choked admitting that he was about to try and write a love letter to Lance.

Pidge snorted, trying to keep a good attitude towards Keith since they were all hurting together, and Hunk was right, she did know that. “Why the rush to tell him _ now? _ Do you know how long he’s going to be hospitalized?”

Keith sighed again, putting the pen down and holding his head. “Weeks. I’ve got time, but I don’t want to waste it.” Keith sighed yet again. “If that makes sense.”

Pidge smiled. “It makes perfect sense.”

Pidge hadn’t noticed Hunk had left the conversation until he placed a plate of cookies down in front of her along with an extra plate holding different icing bags, everything prepped for her. “Here, these should be ready for decorating now.” He then gave Keith two thumbs up. “Good luck on that letter.”

“He’s going to need it,” Pidge snickered, getting a glare from Keith.

With held eye contact, both of their expressions turned into mutual grins and they turned to their activities.

“You know,” Pidge softly spoke up as Keith tapped his pen on the counter and she began decorating the heart-shaped and snowflake-shaped cookies, “I want to blame you. But I can’t. That’s not fair. You had no say in it in the end, just like I had no say. But,” she pointed an icing bag at Keith with the sternest look she’d ever given, startling Keith, “if you hurt Lance again, you’ll face my wrath. And probably Hunk’s, too.”

Keith snorted with a blank expression, looking back at his paper. “Don’t worry. I know it’s partially my fault, and I’m going to make it right.” His face fell into a frown and narrowed eyes, looking back up at Pidge. “Why else would I write a love letter?”

Pidge couldn’t help but giggle as she went back to her decorating.

Keith looked back down at his paper, not even tapping his pen anymore. “I was afraid, so I backed away. That was the biggest mistake I’ve made.” He sighed. “I don’t know how to get anything onto this stupid paper.”

“Exactly what you just said,” Pidge put forth, glancing over at him with a blank face.

Keith raised an eyebrow at her.

“You said you had been afraid and you pushed him away and that it was a mistake,” Pidge summarized, looking back down at the half-iced snowflake cookie in her hand. “So, write that down. Write whatever you would tell anyone else down. Write everything you’re thinking down.” She grinned sorrowfully at the snowflake, going back to icing the bottom half as she was reminded of her own fear on the same subject. She wasn’t even doing what she was advising, but she knew it was right. “That’s the best way to get on the same page. Be completely honest.” She looked at Keith blankly again. “Isn’t that where some of the problem lies between you two?”

Keith stared at her, flabbergasted. He grinned after a second of blinking. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Thanks, Pidge.”

Pidge grinned back. “No problem.”

Their moment was interrupted by Hunk’s oven beeping, meaning the second batch of cookies was done, and Plaxum randomly yelling, “Alexa, play Christmas carols!”

Pidge turned in her seat and glared at Plaxum. “We don’t have Alexa.”

Plaxum’s smile dropped into a pout. “Okay, fine.” She took her phone out of her pocket and putting it on full volume. “Siri, play my Christmas carols playlist.”

Deck The Halls began playing, and Plaxum, Hunk, and Allura all began singing along. Pidge simply groaned and continued her job, trying her best to ignore the off-key singing. She finished a cookie, setting everything down and glancing over at Keith—who was very clearly suffering as well.

Allura came over and wrapped two arms around Pidge from behind, smiling down at her. “Come on, Pidge! Sing with us!”

Pidge glared up at Allura. “Absolutely not. I don’t sing.”

“Alright,” Allura let go of Pidge, grabbing one of Pidge’s hands instead and pulling her out of her seat, “then dance with me!”

Pidge didn’t have a choice but to be dragged into a twirling circle of Allura, Hunk, and Plaxum. She glared over at Keith since he was lucky enough to be left out, though he was finally writing away, which made Pidge grin. It then dawned on her the others’ plan. She grinned up at Allura again.

Allura spotted Pidge’s grin and winked. “I knew he needed some time by himself at the counter to write.”

Pidge nodded before tripping over Allura’s feet. Allura broke the circle to catch Pidge before Pidge hit the floor. The two of them stared at each other, both of their cheeks turning red. Of course, Pidge couldn’t help but blush getting to be so up close to the person she adored. But, the positioning was awkward and their faces were close together, so Pidge was sure Allura wasn’t blushing for the same reason as her. She didn’t let that hinder her good mood, which was uplifted by Allura breaking into laughter and pulling Pidge back onto her feet.

“Maybe that’s enough dancing,” Plaxum laughed lightly as Pidge wobbly got back on her feet.

“Oh, I know!” Allura’s eyes popped as she clapped her hands together twice. “Why don’t we sign the card Plaxum made from scratch while Keith is busy with his letter?”

“You want us to sign, too?” Hunk questioned while Pidge silently tilted her head in confusion.

“Right! I nearly forgot to ask. It would be great if you guys could write sweet little messages for him,” Plaxum added.

Hunk and Pidge were brought over to the living room coffee table, where the basket sat along with store-bought fillings and the various presents people had brought. A card sat off to one side, left open. Hunk went first, tearing up as he wrote. Plaxum patted his back while Pidge crouched down and took the pen, preparing to write her own message. She sucked in a breath but found that she couldn’t let it out for a second, contemplating what exactly to write. She let that breath out as she began writing.

_ You’ve got this, Sharpshooter. _

She looked up at Plaxum, still crouching down. “Do you think you could make me a card? I want to give Lance my own.”

“Yeah! Making cards is fun.” Plaxum smiled.

Pidge smiled back before standing up and returning to her cookie-decorating station, Keith still busily writing and blocking everyone out. Hunk sat down on Pidge’s other side, helping her decorate with all of the cookies down.

“I finished!” Allura gushed so everyone could hear. “I’m going to organize the basket now!”

Pidge snorted, nudging Hunk with her elbow while getting started on another cookie. “Looks like someone took over your project.”

Hunk chuckled. “I don’t mind.”

There was more out-of-tune singing and more random comments and laughter, including Keith finishing his letter and going over to help Allura put everything into the basket and make it look pretty whereas Pidge accidentally caused a bag to explode the opposite way that it was supposed to while her face was close so Hunk had to help her clean icing off of her face and out of her hair. It was chaos in the carols, constant movement, laughter, singing, dancing, talking. It was a well-known, welcoming chaos they were all enjoying.

“Pidge, I’m done with the card!” Plaxum finally called out after about twenty minutes.

Pidge smiled at Hunk. There weren’t too many cookies left; Hunk would have no problem. He grinned and nodded his head to the side towards where Plaxum was standing, giving Pidge permission to leave the rest to him. Pidge practically flew over to the coffee table, sitting down in front of the pen and card Plaxum had designed for her. Pidge took in the front of the card. It was a dark blue card, a big golden glitter star in the middle and various small silver stars scattered in the rest of the blue. It was fitting. Even though Pidge didn’t like the glitter herself. She already had some specs on her hand which she rolled her eyes at.

On top of being annoyed about glitter getting on her hand, she could also feel her nerves kicking in. She was anxious to write a letter to Lance. She was questioning herself on why she asked Plaxum for her own card when she couldn’t even figure out what to put down.

_ Isn’t that where some of the problem lies between you two? _

Pidge realized her advice to Keith applied to her and Lance as well.

She picked up the pen with a grin, still stuck staring at the front. The stars, even with their glitter, were starting to grow on her. “The card is beautiful, Plaxum. Thank you.”

Plaxum snorted. “Don’t thank me. Thank Allura. She came up with the design, I just put the glue and glitter down.”

Pidge’s grin dropped to blankness, Pidge glancing up at Allura. Allura glanced down at her as well, flashing a grin and a wink. Pidge couldn’t help but grin back, Allura’s smile putting her at ease. She opened the card and pressed the pen’s end.

She took a deep breath before whispering under her breath, “Where some of the problem lies…”

She put the pen to the card’s paper.


	36. "No more fronts."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> fun fact: in the sentence "Pidge took the opportunity to climb into..." the 'the' right there is the 69,420th word  
> you're welcome
> 
> song: "Where You Belong" by Kari Kimmel

The bus ride was unbearable. Allura, Plaxum, and Hunk were all still excited and bouncy while Pidge and Keith were quiet and both wishing they weren’t associated with the three loud high school students everyone else on the bus presumably thought were annoying. The hospital was the fifth stop, about a fifteen minute drive from Pidge’s house excluding the time it took for the bus to stop at the designated places. Pidge couldn’t take it. Her nerves were extremely high because she was anxious to see Lance for the first time since the incident and because Allura was being super cute with how excited and joyful she was. Pidge couldn’t figure out if she was happy or embarrassed or sick-to-her-stomach anxious, and having not eaten since noon when it was now nearing 6 p.m. wasn’t helping her jumbled head and stomach either. Everything was a blur, just like the scenery through the moving bus’ dark windows that Pidge watched from where she stood holding a hanging handle. Pidge didn’t like it.

Pidge’s stomach growled after a good ten minutes, Pidge giving a groan and tugging on Hunk’s sleeve to get his attention. She stared at the tote bag over his shoulder—which held three bottles of sodas, bags of chips, salsa, humus, bread, various sandwich meats, lettuce, tomatoes and avocado slices Hunk had cut for them at Pidge’s house, a variety of condiments, and all the paper and plastic supplies they needed—and then looked up at him with narrowed eyes. “Can we eat as soon as we get there?”

Hunk shrugged. His own stomach growled, him pouting. “I dunno man, but I sure hope we can. I’m starving here.”

Another stomach growled, Hunk and Pidge directing their attention to Keith, who had been on the other side of Pidge the entire ride. Keith immediately turned his head the other way.

“I think that’s three votes for eating before presents,” Hunk commented.

“Not happening,” Plaxum suddenly cut in, getting everyone to look her way. She was on the other side of Hunk at this point, the two of them and Allura having constantly been moving for a while. “Lance should go through the basket first. It won’t be as special if we don’t.”

“But we’re going to starve,” Hunk whined.

“You’ll be fine for a little while longer,” Allura comforted, poking her head out from behind Plaxum with a smile. “I believe in you.”

Hunk whimpered, looking to the ceiling. Pidge sighed and wished for the ride to be over.

Surprisingly, her wish came true quicker than the schedule had said.

“Let’s go!” Plaxum yelled, grabbing Allura’s hand as the bus stopped and running ahead to get off of the bus together while laughing.

Pidge squinted at them as she walked to the front after the bus had stopped, Keith ahead of her and Hunk beside her. She sighed to Hunk, “This is what I have to deal with all night?” She then grinned up at Hunk with a small snort to show him she was joking.

Hunk grinned in return with flowers around his head, basically. “I’m sure Lance is going to be thrilled to see you.”

Pidge sighed for real, looking forward. “Or he’ll hate me for going in after him.”

“And he’d have to hate me for calling the ambulance, right?” Hunk countered as they stepped off of the bus and onto the sidewalk.

The sidewalk turned into a parking garage, which Plaxum and Allura were illegally walking on the road of. At least it was empty. Hunk, Pidge, and Keith followed them, walking on the road.

Pidge knit her eyebrows at Hunk. “I thought you two have been texting.”

“Exactly,” Hunk beamed. “He doesn’t blame us. He’s smarter than that.”

Pidge opened her mouth to make a sly comment, but Keith beat her to it, looking over his shoulder and interrupting by saying, “Is he, though?”

Hunk laughed while Pidge glared at him.

“Not cool, man.”

Keith blinked at them. “Is it too soon for jokes?”

“No,” Pidge grumbled. “You stole my thunder.”

Hunk laughed yet again and Keith joined him. Pidge simply groaned, dooming herself further by looking forward to find Plaxum and Allura walking together up the garage’s ramp way ahead of everyone. Still holding hands.

Hunk leaned in. “Jealous?”

Pidge rolled her eyes. “Give it up already.”

“It wouldn’t be surprising if she’s the only one who hasn’t caught on.” Keith made both Hunk and Pidge jump. He looked back at them with a shrug. “Or maybe she already caught on. Who knows?”

Pidge gave him a puzzled look. “I would have never expected that from someone who doesn’t talk all that much and seems to dislike human interaction.”

Keith wasn’t given a chance to respond thanks to Plaxum yelling back at them, “Hurry up!”

The three left behind grudgingly sped up towards the elevator at the end of the inclined road, following Plaxum and Allura inside and taking it up to the floor Lance was on. Plaxum did all the talking at the front desk while the other four took a seat in the waiting room.

“They’re sending a nurse in to check on Lance and make sure he’s physically well enough for visitors,” Plaxum explained as she rejoined the group and sat down. “But they’re making sure to mention nothing about visitors so we can surprise him.”

“What should we say when we burst in?” Hunk questioned. “I mean, you can’t just go in. You have to go in with a bang, you know?”

“Hunk has a point,” Allura agreed.

“Why not just say ‘Merry Christmas?’” Keith put forth with a hand.

Pidge nodded. “It _is_ Christmas Eve.”

Everyone hummed in agreement. They got littler time than they’d expected to figure out a general plan. According to Keith, there was a counter and a sink on the left side of Lance’s room that they could use to put the food out on. Keith was going to bring in the tote bag full of food and Hunk was going to bring in the basket, but Plaxum was going to present all of the cards. That included Keith’s love letter since Keith was clearly too embarrassed to hand it to Lance himself; he even tried to take it out of the basket before a nurse came over but Allura caught him. The nurse directed them to Lance’s room, leaving them outside.

“On three,” Keith instructed in a whisper, then slowly counting down. “One, two, three…”

Allura opened the door and the five of them rushed in, all yelling, “Merry Christmas!” to which Lance screamed.

“Fucking hell, a little more warning would have been nice!” Lance scolded from his bed, already being propped up. He was pale, with large, dark eyebags. He looked sickly and overly exhausted.

“We thought it would be nice to surprise you,” Hunk beamed, smiling, despite Lance’s clear displeasure.

Lance groaned, crossing his arms slowly and glaring at all of them as they all took off their coats and scarves and hats and hung them up on a coat rack by the door.

Plaxum ran over and enveloped Lance in a hug. “I’m so happy to see you!”

“We brought food and gifts,” Allura bubbled.

“Hey,” Keith hesitantly choked with a small wave once he was done putting the tote bag on the counter.

Pidge couldn’t bring herself to even say a small greeting like Keith forced out. All she could do was look at Lance, sitting propped up in his bed and smiling as he started laughing with Hunk and unfolded his arms to carefully hug Plaxum back. Despite everyone’s excited voices and their wide smiles, Pidge couldn’t bring herself into the moment.

The dark water and red and blue lights flashed before her eyes, her brain switching between three days ago where Lance wasn’t visible and now where Lance was talking and laughing right in front of her.

A hand came down on her shoulder, causing Pidge to jump even though the gesture was light. Allura looked ahead at Lance instead of down at Pidge, grinning. “You don’t need to be afraid,” she whispered.

“Pidge!” Lance suddenly yelled, making eye contact with her while pouting angrily. “Get over here!”

Allura let go of Pidge’s shoulder, instead putting a hand on her back and giving a push. “Go hug him.”

Pidge looked back at Allura with terror, Allura raising her eyebrows and nodding her head up to tell her to go. Pidge sucked in a breath, letting herself not think for once. She ran up to Lance and wrapped her arms around his neck while a tear let loose, trying to make sure she wasn’t hurting his back. It took Lance a second to hug her back. Feeling Lance’s grip made her cry more.

“Hey,” Lance gently said with his cheek against Pidge’s ear, “I’m okay thanks to you.”

“Hunk was the one who called 911, not me,” Pidge whispered back while tears rolled down her chin onto her own arm.

“But I’m doing okay now because you came in after me,” Lance chuckled before exhaling lightly. “It meant a lot to feel your hand down there.”

Pidge could only cry harder after hearing that. The others gave them a moment to hug in silence without being awkward, Plaxum and Hunk talking while Allura helped Keith unpack the tote bag. Finally after a good half minute, Pidge pulled back to wipe her stinging eyes and give Lance a smile. “I’m so glad you’re alive.”

Lance hummed, smiling back at her. “I’m glad, too.”

“Sorry to end this moment, but is it card time yet?” Plaxum butt in. “We’re all getting hungry here.”

“Well, first shouldn’t we talk about what’s going on with Lance?” Keith suggested, coming over to the other side of the bed with Allura—meaning Keith and Allura were on Lance’s left while Pidge, Plaxum, and Hunk were on Lance’s right.

“Oh,” Lance coughed, glancing at Keith and turning red before looking down at his lap and clearing his throat. “They want to keep me in the hospital for about a month to continue tracking the infections I got from the water that, yeah, could potentially kill me.”

“ _What?!_ ” everyone screamed, unsurprisingly off put.

“Calm your tits,” Lance laughed. “And your man tits.” He held his hand up, which currently had an IV in. “I’m getting a bunch of IV treatment.”

“And your back?” Plaxum asked. “Tía Sofia hasn’t told me anything.”

“Another perk of being kept here, physical therapy is right down the hall. I’ll have to be on crutches for a while once they let me out, but I’ll be back to walking on my own before the end of the school year,” Lance reassured.

“Are you getting psychological therapy?” Hunk questioned with narrowed eyes.

Lance laughed. “Yeah, I am, don’t worry.” He pointed a finger at the ceiling. “Four floors up. They wheel me up there.”

Hunk grinned and sat down on the bed, putting a hand on Lance’s resting hand. Pidge took the opportunity to climb onto the bed, rolled over Lance’s legs while everyone either laughed or asked her what the fuck she was doing, and promptly snuggled up to Lance’s other side while making way for her own hand under Lance’s.

“Now we have a hand sandwich,” Pidge said with a mischievous grin.

“Oh god, puns right now? Really?” Lance whined at her before scoffing and looking at the ceiling dramatically.

Everyone laughed lightly, including Lance while he brought his head back down. That was, except for Plaxum.

“Okay, now are we ready to give him what’s in the basket?” she asked, taking the group card out of the basket.

Lance smiled at her. “Yeah, sure.” He smiled a signature proud, high and mighty smile. “I’m always ready for flattery.”

Plaxum’s face dropped, shoving the card back in. “Nevermind. Let’s just eat.”

“Oh, come on!” Lance complained.

Plaxum laughed and handed Lance the card, helping him by holding one side of it since Lance only had one hand free. Everyone looked at Lance as he silently read it, watching as a big grin formed and tears teased the corners of his eyes.

He looked up at everyone. “Thank you, guys,” he said quietly.

Everyone else smiled, happy to see that Lance was moved by the card. Pidge was starting to feel anxious since she knew her card was coming up soon. Plaxum then took out a little note card from Hunk that read ‘Stay strong, Sharpshooter’ and handed it to Lance. Lance smiled as he took it into his hand, looking at it for a good second while Hunk hummed.

Lance held the card out to Plaxum. “Put this up against my lamp.”

Plaxum gave him a glare.

Lance sighed and rolled his eyes, shaking the card once lightly. “Please.”

Plaxum grinned and propped the small card up against the base of Lance’s bedside table lamp.

Then came Pidge’s card.

Pidge watched intently as Lance took the star-covered card from Plaxum, holding it by himself. Pidge sucked in a breath as Lance slowly opened the card using his thumb. There was a second of stillness, no one moving a muscle. Tears began rolling down Lance’s face. Seeing Lance cry caused her to remember the short letter she’d written inside. It played over in her head quickly multiple times.

_Lance—_

_Hunk told me everything. I’m so sorry. I was too wrapped up in my own crush and past that I overlooked all of the small things you let on and I didn’t consider that you weren’t okay until it was too late already. I’m sorry you felt like you couldn’t talk to me. I was too stupid to show you that you could trust me with anything, even a crush on the same person or a horrifying past. I promise, I’m always here for you. No matter what, you can talk to me about whatever you want or need to. I’ll always listen and give you hugs. And call you Losershooter._

_You’ll always be my best friend, Lance._

_I love you._

_Forever your “little lesbean”,_

_Katie_

_(I’m going to seriously regret writing that last line when you get to read this)_

Lance laughed, reading the side note. Pidge wanted to say the last two serious lines aloud while still leaning on Lance, but she couldn’t get anything out of her mouth; she couldn’t even bring herself to open her mouth. Tears swelled in Pidge’s eyes, blurring her vision before she blinked and let them go. Lance put the card down in his lap, putting his free hand around Pidge since, luckily, his free arm was on Pidge’s side. Hunk began crying seeing Pidge and Lance crying. Plaxum began crying seeing the three of them crying. Allura then joined in, too. Keith shed a single tear. The six of them had a short sob fest, though once everyone’s eyes were dry and faces were smiling, Plaxum pulled a folded piece of loose leaf out of the basket. Smirks overtook everyone’s faces except Keith and Lance, Lance blinking in confusion and Keith looking at the floor while completely red. Plaxum opened the paper and tugged the edges gently to flatten it more, then handing it to Lance, Lance having to take his arm away from Pidge. Everyone but Keith’s eyes pinned him down as he read, them excitedly awaiting his reaction.

A smile and a blush continuously grew on Lance’s face as he read. He placed the paper down in his lap, finishing without saying a word. He closed his eyes and took a breath, then looking up and finally breaking the room’s watchful silence. “Keith?”

The entire room’s attention turned to Keith. Keith paused. He took a slow, quiet step towards the bed while the crowd parted for him. Without Keith opening his mouth to say anything, Lance pulled his hand out from the sandwich and reached out to hug Keith. Keith didn’t hug back or step close enough for Lance to hug him, despite Lance squeezing his hands twice to signal for what he wanted. Instead, Keith leaned forehead to plant his lips on Lance’s forehead softly and keep them there for a solid two seconds. He pulled away with a massive smirk.

Lance pouted while turning all shades of red, groaning before muttering, “I wanted a hug.”

Keith chuckled and stepped closer, putting his hand on Lance’s back and slowly, lightly rubbing it—avoiding where he got surgery in the lower part of his back.

Lance huffed with another groan, crossing his arms. “I guess that suffices.”

Both Hunk and Allura exclaimed their ‘aw’s, whereas Plaxum mumbled something about how Keith could have outright kissed Lance to make a statement, and Pidge scrunched her nose at the PDA. The moment was very light, uplifting everyone. Even Pidge, though she wouldn’t admit it.

The moment darkened when Lance’s face did, Lance hanging his head. “I’m really sorry for trying to… yeah…” There was a pause as he cleared his throat, continuing with a softer tone than usual. “I assume you all know that… I’m the result of an unprotected rape, and after seventeen years of being told my dad died, he showed up at our door. I didn’t even know it was him. So once I found out who he was on top of everything normal I was stressing about, I just…” Lance sighed. “I just lost it.”

There was a pause, the room staying still.

Pidge found it in herself to be the first one to speak up.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Pidge put her hand on Lance’s. “You can always talk to us.”

“Yeah,” Hunk beamed. “We’re always here for you.”

“I live with you,” Plaxum snorted. “It’s not hard for you to come knock on my door.”

“I’ll lend an ear whenever you need,” Allura joined in.

Keith reached out for Lance’s hands, Pidge moving hers so Keith could hold both of Lance’s hands. Keith hesitated before saying anything, simply staring at Lance.

Pidge glared at the romantic stares.

Keith finally swallowed and spoke up. “Call and I’ll be there.”

Cue aw’ing from Hunk and Allura again while Plaxum and Pidge both nearly died from internal disgust.

“You know,” Allura cut into the moment, “it’s said to be common for teenagers to put up fronts.” Pidge glanced over to find Allura glancing at her with a blank expression, though Allura quickly looked away with a smile to look at the rest of the group while continuing. “So, I was thinking, as a friend group, we should make a pact.” She balled her hand into a fist and held it out above Lance’s lap. “No more fronts?”

Everyone made fists and put their own in. They all glanced at each other, clearly thinking the same thing.

Allura whispered, “One, two, three…”

“No more fronts,” they all exclaimed, raising their fists into the air with wide smiles and laughter.

“Group hug!” Hunk yelled, wrapping his arms around Lance.

Pidge, of course, was the first one to join. Plaxum quickly joined the train, as did Allura.

“Keith, get in here,” Allura insisted, grabbing Keith’s arm and pulling him in as well.

Everyone laughed while hugging Lance in his bed, some people on the bed, some off.

The door suddenly opened. “Sorry to interrupt, but it’s 6:30. Visiting hours end in thirty minutes.” The door closed again.

“Time for food, then!” Lance declared as the hug broke.

“Finally!” Pidge yelled from the back of her throat, the grumbling of her stomach being transferred into her voice.

“Hey, want me to get you a plate? What do you want?” Keith offered.

“What would everyone like to drink?” Allura questioned loudly as she ran up to the counter to start pouring drinks.

“I already cut everything up so everything is sandwich ready!” Hunk informed, also loudly.

Pidge was the only one who wasn’t chattering. Once everyone else had gotten their dinner and drinks and had abandoned the counter to start conversations, Pidge went over and made herself a sandwich and grabbed a cup of Sprite. She looked around, surveying all of the smiles and talking and eating going on without her. In that moment, she was perfectly happy being an observer. She needed an emotional calm-down moment. She grinned to herself, looking down at her plate before looking out the window. Snow was lighting falling in the darkened environment on the other side of the window. She noticed a grin staring back at her in front of the snow—a reflection of herself, a front for the snow.

Of course, her mind had to ruin her grin now that she’d really noticed it. It occurred to her that if the group was no longer putting up any fronts, she would have to come clean with Allura. She didn’t feel ready for that. Was that okay with the new group policy? Were crushes excluded from the rule? Having to question if it was excluded made her feel as though, even if it would be excruciating, it was probably the right thing to do at that point.

Pidge sighed to herself, looking over at Lance’s bed, everyone sitting and standing together, everyone conversing, everyone wearing smiles, everyone laughing, everyone having a good time. Although the moment would be beautiful in a normal situation, the fact of where they were and why put a bittersweet feeling in Pidge’s chest. Pidge looked at Lance, who had the brightest smile of all, even with how sick he clearly was. Lance was okay, and that was what mattered most. She found herself grinning again, happy Lance was genuinely having a good time after everything that had happened.

Lance not putting up a front put the thoughts back into Pidge’s mind, even though she’d only pushed them away a second ago. Her gaze shifted, landing on Allura. Pidge began blushing at the gorgeous view for the millionth time.

And finding herself being caught staring.

Pidge averted her eyes like an owl turning its head 180°, staring back at her reflection in the window again. Even with her heart bursting, her face burning, and her hands sweating, she knew what needed to be done. She nodded at herself in the mirror, mumbling to herself under her breath.

“No more fronts.”


	37. "Let's go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> song: "Love" by Nathan Wagner

“So, did you end up needing meds?” Lance asked.

The room was now empty except for Pidge and Lance. Pidge was sitting in a chair pulled up next to his bed, holding Lance’s hand. There were two minutes left until Pidge was going to be kicked out. Hunk and Plaxum had packed up the tote bag and left the basket of presents on the bedside table for Lance to go through on his own, a list of what was from who included. The room’s lights had been dimmed on Lance’s request, his head having started hurting a few minutes before everyone started packing up. Keith was the first to leave, his father having angrily called him about not being home when his dad got home, so he had to rush off ten minutes before 7. Plaxum and Hunk packed everything up and left three minutes before 7, Allura in tow. Pidge and Lance hadn’t even had a minute to themselves and it was already awkward, the two of them avoiding eye contact by Lance staring at his lap and Pidge staring at his blanketed legs in front of her.

“No,” Pidge laughed lightly. “I got sick the day after, but nothing too serious.”

There was a pause between them as Lance readjusted in his bed. “How are things between you and Allura?”

“What do you mean?” Pidge questioned blankly.

“Have you confessed yet?”

“No.”

Another pause as Lance took a moment to think. He then chuckled, grinning solemnly at the ceiling. “I didn’t traumatize you and make you need therapy, too, did I?”

Pidge couldn’t help but let out a light laugh, too. “Yeah, honestly, I’m scarred.” She finally broke the silent no-eye-contact rule, looking at Lance with a grin. “But I’m more scared about you going forward than anything needing therapy.”

There was another pause, Lance’s gentle grin falling into a flat out solemn expression. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

Pidge shook her head and looked away again, her own grin dropping as her grip on his hand tightened. “I was so scared you were never coming out of the water,” she whispered back, tears building up. “At the end of the day everyday, you and our friends’ survival is all I want, even if I never tell you guys that.”

“Being a teen with hormones and no thought process to actions sucks,” Lance whined, both of them cracking grins at the end and laughing together.

The laughter died down, silence filling the space again.

Pidge decided she’d be the one to break the silence this time. She cleared her throat, a blank expression replacing her grin. “So, you had feelings for Allura,” she stated without adding a question, feeling too awkward to add anything else as she looked up at Lance.   
Lance got what she was getting at. “All the time I’ve spent with Allura had me falling for her while things weren’t going too great for me and Keith. It was an annoying rebound feeling.” He finally looked back at Pidge. “I’m sorry.”

Pidge’s eyes dropped into a squint. “You’re stupid for thinking you need to apologize.”

Lance rolled his eyes, laughing. “Whatever. I’m good now.” Lance turned his head, grinning at the folded paper sticking out of his basket. “Keith was finally clear.” Lance turned his head back, winking at Pidge. “Allura is no longer needed.”

Pidge rolled her own eyes, grinning too. “You’re fine, Lance. You have nothing to worry about. I don’t care that you liked her.” She then smirked. “I know you wouldn’t be able to win her over like I can.”

Lance’s grin soured into a pout, him giving a huff and looking away from her. “You should go.”

“Oh come on, it was a joke, I didn’t mean it” Pidge pleaded, holding Lance’s hand up with both of her hands.

“No,” Lance pointed at the clock above the room’s door, “it’s 7. You should go before the nurse kicks your little lesbean ass out.”

The smirk on Lance’s face infuriated Pidge. She, in fact,  _ did  _ regret writing that in her card. She let out a sigh, putting her anger aside and giving Lance’s hand a squeeze before standing up from her seat. “I’ll visit when I can.” She smiled as Lance’s hand slipped out of hers.

Lance smiled back. “See you later.”

Pidge looked at him for a split second, taking in his smile before turning and leaving the room.

“Did you have a nice talk?”

“Gah!” Pidge nearly fell backwards and hit her head, jumping and exclaiming before realizing it was just Allura.

Allura stood up straight and smiled at her, having been leaning her back against the wall next to the room’s door. “Sorry to startle you,” she laughed. “I didn’t want to leave without you.”

Pidge wasn’t sure whether she should still be angry since her heart was still racing from being startled or if she should be flattered. She sighed. “Did everyone else leave already?”

Allura nodded. “Their bus already left. I didn’t want you to be on a bus by yourself when it’s already dark out.”

Pidge snorted, beginning to head out. “It’s only 7.”   
Allura gave her a stern look. “It’s still dark out and we are ladies.”

Pidge couldn’t help but snort again. “Ladies. Sure, whatever you say.”

Allura sighed. “I’m just trying to be considerate,” she complained. She then added softly, “I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.”

Pidge’s cheeks burned without her permission, but she couldn’t stop it. She cleared her throat. “Well, thank you, I guess.”

Pidge followed Allura back to the waiting room and back to the elevator, the two of them staying awkwardly silent. Leaving the annoying elevator music to run through Pidge’s ears and get stuck in her head once they got out. They stepped back onto the garage’s road, the garage still empty. Halfway down, the snow outside became visible. Pidge grinned at the sight of the snow in the night. And the sight of wavy silver hair bouncing a bit ahead of her.

Allura stopped suddenly, still about fifty feet from the exit. Pidge caught up and stopped right behind her.

“Hey, what’s up?” Pidge gently spoke up.

Allura took a step with one foot so that she was turned, her side now to Pidge. “How are you emotionally?” Her voice was much softer, much lighter than usual. Her eyes were glazed over with worry. Her typica grin was dragged down into a small frown.

Allura’s demeanor and question made Pidge’s heart sting. All Pidge could answer was, “I’m taxed,” before involuntarily yawning. She could see her breath from her yawn as a small cloud in the chilled, dimly lit space.

Allura didn’t respond except for giving a nod and taking another step, now fully facing Pidge. She took yet another step towards Pidge, getting uncomfortably close for Pidge’s liking —especially with how off she was already feeling, having had that talk with Lance and then been scared by Allura. Allura raised her arms. Pidge’s face was cupped, Allura staring down at her as the glaze slowly melted from her worried blue eyes. Pidge, of course, burned up immediately.

“You need to tell me whenever anything is wrong, alright?” Allura said in a low tone. “Be honest with me at all times. Please.”

Pidge hesitantly nodded, getting overwhelmed extremely quickly. This was her chance. This was her moment. She knew that if she formulated something, it would end poorly, so she forced herself to open her mouth.

Nothing came out. Nothing got to come out. Her overwhelming thoughts vanished while her heart melted and her face burned and her eyes widened. All she could register was that Allura’s lips were against the top of her head.

Allura pulled away what felt like was too soon, but had really already been three seconds. She slipped her hand into Pidge’s with gentle eyes and the sweetest grin Pidge had ever seen from her. “Let’s go.”

Pidge, shaken up by that after everything that had already had her feeling off that day, lost any facial expression, along with any color in her face, and simply followed Allura’s lead without saying a word. Her head was still only able to register that Allura had kissed it. They walked to the bus stop in silence, still holding hands. They stood at the bus stop in silence, still holding hands. They sat on the bus in silence, still holding hands.

Pidge’s stop came way before Allura’s, which Pidge was thankful for since she felt awkward as hell. Pidge slowly stood up from her seat as the bus came to a stop, and before she could start walking to the front of the bus, Allura gave Pidge’s hand a squeeze. Pidge looked down at Allura, who was smiling up at her. Pidge didn’t know she could lose feeling even more than she already had, but apparently she could. Pidge let go and drifted away, floating off the bus and to her house like a ghost—a ghost who had lost her soul to a beautiful, luring goddess.

She stepped into her house, silently took off her shoes, hung up her coat, put her scarf in the designated scarf and hat bin, and made her way upstairs to her room. She closed her bedroom door behind her, sat down on her bed, grabbed her pillow—all with the baffled, blank, ghostly expression—and put the pillow to her face before finally saying something.

“ _ WHAT THE HELL?!" _

_ _


	38. "No."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> only one chapter this week, sorry guys!! it didn't feel right continuing rather than spacing this and the next set out because there are time gaps both before and after this chapter, so next week's going to be a 5 chapter update  
> the title is really weird just being no but i promise it'll make sense  
> also there is a bit of spanish, the lines are rewritten in notes at the end of the chapter  
> enjoy this fun chapter!!
> 
> song: "Verge" by Owl City and Aloe Blacc

If anyone thought Pidge wouldn’t be a lifeless ghost for the next few family days, they were wrong. Of course, no one was texting much since everyone was too busy with their families. Lance had his mom, Plaxum, and his uncle and aunt visiting him every day. Keith was spending time with his dad and his cousin. Allura was being smothered by her two fathers, as Hunk was by his two mothers. And Pidge had to deal with her mom and Matt pestering her about what happened to make her so blank and spacey.

Pidge was just thankful that it was Christmas the day after visiting Lance since she had no idea how to respond to any of Allura’s texts. She’d dodged all of the texts and calls from Allura.

Of course, New Year’s Eve came, and her five days of blissful radio silence after such a stressful week ended. In other words, her binge of cat videos was interrupted.

 ** _Cookie Monster_** _has added you to_ ** _New Voltron Club™_** _._

**_Cookie Monster_ ** **_to New Voltron Club™:_ ** _since there’s more ppl going to the idner now I thought I should make a new gc_

**_Cookie Monster_ ** **_to New Voltron Club™:_ ** _*diner_

**_Cookie Monster_ ** **_to New Voltron Club™:_ ** _also lance isn’t in this one yet_

**_Cookie Monster_ ** **_to New Voltron Club™:_ ** _i thought we should surprise lance again!!_

**_Allura_ ** **_to New Voltron Club™:_ ** _What a splendid idea!! I’m sure we can convince the nurses to let us stay until 12:30 just so we can be there for Lance at midnight._

**_(Unknown Number)_ ** **_to New Voltron Club™:_ ** _leave that to me dw_

**_(Unknown Number)_ ** **_to New Voltron Club™:_ ** _I think that would be really great._

**_(Unknown Number)_ ** **_to New Voltron Club™:_ ** _maybe you two can finally kiss ;)_

Pidge automatically put it together that the first and third ‘unknown number’ texts were both Plaxum, whereas the middle number was Keith. She promptly thought of nicknames for them and created their contacts, getting banners for texts from the new group afterwards despite wanting to go back to binging cat videos.

**_I’m So Emo_ ** **_to New Voltron Club™:_ ** _… But do I have to-_

**_Allura’s Ex_ ** **_to New Voltron Club™:_ ** _uhm yes???? if you don’t kiss my cousin i will for you_

**_I’m So Emo_ ** **_to New Voltron Club™:_ ** _How is that a threat?_

**_Cookie Monster_ ** **_to New Voltron Club™:_ ** _guys!! we need to focus!!_

**_Allura_ ** **_to New Voltron Club™:_ ** _I think you should kiss Lance, Keith!! How cute would it be if you kissed him at midnight?_

**_Allura’s Ex_ ** **_to New Voltron Club™:_ ** _seeeeee_

Pidge sighed, finally giving up on trying to continue watching cat videos and opening the group chat to send a message.

_Can you guys not_

**_Cookie Monster:_ ** _can we PLEASE focus!!_

_Hunk has a point_

**_Cookie Monster:_ ** _when should we meet?? Should we bring food or what_

 **_Allura’s Ex:_ ** _i say meet at like. 11 and leave at 1_

 **_Allura:_ ** _Will you be able to convince them of that?_

 **_Allura’s Ex:_ ** _yeah i think so_

 **_I’m So Emo:_ ** _I’ll bring some things I know Lance is probably craving_

_Hospital food does suck_

**_Cookie Monster:_ ** _cool so we’ll all be at Lance’s room for 11?_

 **_Allura:_ ** _Should we do presents?_

 **_Allura’s Ex:_ ** _why would we do presents_

 **_Allura:_ ** _I worry he’s feeling lonely and bored stuck in that bed when he doesn’t have appointments. I thought it may be nice even though New Year’s isn’t typically considered a holiday to give presents on_

 **_Cookie Monster:_ ** _I think that’s a good idea!! I’m sure he’d be happy_

An idea quickly sprung into Pidge’s head for what she could do for Lance this time.

_Hey Plaxum, Lance got an iPad mini for Christmas, right?_

**_Allura’s Ex:_ ** _yeah he won’t get off of it_

Pidge grinned to herself, ignoring the messages in between from Keith and Allura—of course, Allura nagging him to kiss Lance at midnight.

_Thanks Plaxum!_

Pidge set her phone down and ignored it, even though it was going off constantly. Was a group chat with the five of them really a good idea? She wasn’t sure.

“Hey, mom,” Pidge called as she rushed out of her room and downstairs.

“Yes?” her mom called back from the living room, pausing her episode of N.C.I.S. and looking over her shoulder to smile at Pidge.

“Can I go with everyone to visit Lance for the countdown? We were thinking from 11 to 1,” Pidge put forward.

“Of course!” her mom beamed. “Just stay safe.”

“Oh, and one more thing,” Pidge added.

“Hm?” her mom hummed.

A smile cracked open on Pidge’s face. “Can we go to Target?”

 

Pidge hesitated to open the room’s door. She was already about ten minutes late, having missed the bus and needing her mom to drive her. She took a deep breath, questioning if the present she had was really worth anything in meaning. She let the breath out and reached her hand out, opening the door.

Voices and laughter flooded her ears as she stepped in, everyone smiling and talking. There were four different small cakes set out on the counter, which Hunk was currently standing at and cutting a slice out of one of the cakes. Allura was standing next to him, placing multiple bags of candy next to paper plates. Keith’s present of candy sat on the bedside table to another present, a small box wrapped in wrapping paper and kept closed with a ribbon tied at the top. Keith was sitting on Lance’s bed, Keith giving Lance a bouquet and Lance gasping with an open-mouth smile. Pidge took it all quickly in before looking back to Allura, who was now looking at her.

Allura smiled with a small exhale and gave a wave.

Pidge died. Figuratively.

She looked away, trying to hide her blush and brush aside the memory of Allura kissing her head that was now on replay.

“Pidge!” Lance excitedly exclaimed, catching her attention and giving her a big wave.

Pidge smiled, her thoughts of Allura vanishing as she ran over to her best friend and hugged him gently. She hummed. “How are you doing?”

Lance hugged her back. “I’m doing _a lot_ better. They gave me stronger meds so I haven’t been getting sick as often.”

Pidge let go, smiling at Lance. “I’m glad you’re starting to do better. Have you been able to walk yet?”

Lance’s smile vanished, a frown replacing it as he sighed. “Only a few steps on my own.”

“Hey,” Keith cut in, putting the bouquet down and placing a hand on Lance’s leg to get his attention—and in the process getting Pidge’s attention, too. “That’s progress.”

Lance grinned with a hum. “Thanks, Keith,” he said softly.

Pidge knit her eyebrows, staring at Keith but leaning her head over to the side to talk to Lance in a low tone. “Is that his way of saying ‘good job’?”

Lance’s face deadpanned, looking up at Pidge. “Yeah, basically,” he said in a normal tone, so Keith could hear. “He doesn’t really know how to compliment people.”

Keith huffed. “I can when I want to.”

Pidge and Lance both laughed.

Hunk suddenly barged in, taking up Keith and Pidge’s personal space to hold a plate out to Lance. “Cake and candy from yours truly.”

Lance chuckled, taking the plate and smiling at Hunk. “Thanks, buddy.”

“Where are Plaxum and Lance’s mum?” Allura questioned, coming over to the group, too.

Pidge scrunched her nose. “British,” she muttered under her breath.

Lance heard her, muttering back, “British,” in agreement.

“They should be here soon,” Hunk informed, stepping back from the bed and heading back over to the counter while calling out, “Anyone else want cake?”

“Me,” Pidge, Keith, and Allura all said in unison.

“Please,” Allura added, whereas Pidge and Keith didn’t add anything to their ‘me’s.

Hunk exhaled loudly in satisfaction, picking up his cake-slicing knife with a smile. “Come over and tell me what you want, then.”

The three of them rushed over, Keith getting there first. Pidge had hoped to put Keith in between her and Allura. But now, Allura was looking over her shoulder. Pidge gulped while her cheeks felt red again. It felt as though Allura was purposefully invading Pidge’s personal space, standing uncomfortably close to Pidge’s back. Speaking of invading personal space, Allura had kissed Pidge’s forehead.

Pidge despised her brain.

“Vanilla, chocolate, marble, or velvet?” Hunk asked, saving her from her blush-provoking thoughts.

Pidge grinned. “Marble, please.”

“Marble for me as well,” Allura jumped in. “If Pidge thinks your marble is good, I must try it.”

Pidge’s heart seized as her face turned red, blankly staring at the cake Hunk was cutting for her.

“Gotcha!” Hunk beamed as he pulled out Pidge’s slice, slipping it onto a plate and handing the plate to Pidge.

Pidge took the plate shakily, then making her shaky, hiccup-ing legs walk a step over to grab a fork from the plastic fork box and then walk back over to the bed. Lance was smirking at her and snickering the entire time. Of course, Allura caught up to her, giving a hum behind her.

“Oh, Hunk, this is marvelous!” Allura exclaimed for the entire room to hear as Pidge plopped down at the foot of Lance’s bed. Then again, there weren’t enough people for you to not be able to hear everyone all the time.

“I’m glad you like it!” Hunk beamed back, coming over with his own plate of cake and candy.

As if Allura had a wish for Pidge to be tortured, she sat down next to Pidge. “Following your taste was the right thing,” she commented to Pidge with a smile.

Pidge glanced for a second, somehow became an even darker shade of red, and looked down at her cake, scooping some of it up and shoving it into her mouth so she didn’t have to talk. She gave a slow double-nod, the fork still pressed to her bottom lip as she gradually chewed the cake. Just as Allura had exclaimed, the cake was marvelous.

The door burst open, Plaxum and another woman rushing in.

“I’m so sorry we’re late, Lance!” the woman, who shared Lance’s shiny skin and beautiful hair, apologized nervously while running over to the counter and putting a large shopping bag down. She took out bottles of soda and plastic cups, finding room for them.

“We got caught up,” Plaxum explained, coming over to the bed and hugging Lance. “The lines were insane.” She pulled away with a giggle. “I guess lots of people had the same idea as us.”

Pidge could barely process anything that was happening, stuffing her face with cake while trying to ignore just how close Allura was sitting to her. Whatever was going on, Pidge couldn’t figure it out. Even though everyone else, even Plaxum who’d only been in the room for a minute, could. All eyes other than those of Lance’s mom were glaring at her and Allura, though Pidge was too busy staring down the cake in her lap to avoid eye contact with Allura to notice.

Conversation and further snacking commenced, everyone talking and laughing. Except Pidge. Pidge was still sitting there, red as a tomato.

“Guys! Guys!” Plaxum suddenly shouted ecstatically, getting everyone’s attention as she pointed at the small clock above the door. “It’s two minutes to midnight already!”

“Does anyone else want sparkling white grape juice for midnight?” Lance’s mom questioned.

Pidge finally perked up. She hadn’t had anything to drink in the forty-five minutes she’d been there, and even though she’d eaten the cake at a snail’s pace, she was aching for a drink after eating. She, along with Allura and Hunk, rushed over to get their stereotypical red plastic cups full of fake alcohol.

In other words, Lance’s mom was pretty cool.

Once Pidge had her cup, she went back to Lance’s bed and sat down at the foot again.

Keith leaned in to Lance, saying in a low tone, “Alcohol is way better.”

Pidge could still hear it. But Plaxum, Hunk, Allura, and Lance’s mom couldn’t; they were all at the counter for the cakes and candy.

“Oh, I know,” Lance said back with a shrug.

Pidge nearly choked on her drink, whipping her head around to look at Lance in astonishment. “Since when have you had alcohol?” she basically yelled in nearly a whisper.

Lance scoffed. “My mom may want to seem like a responsible parent, but no, we usually drink on New Year’s. The whole family. Including Plaxum.” He glanced over at the counter, smirking. “She’s probably disappointed to have to have sparkling grape juice rather than champagne this year.”

Keith raised an eyebrow at him. “More so than you?”

“Actually, this one is pretty good,” Pidge justified with a shrug. “It’s way better than most sparkling grace juices.” She then smiled at Lance. “Your mom has good taste.”

“I have good taste in what?” Lance’s mom suddenly said as she approached the bed, oblivious to what they were talking about.

Pidge looked up at her with a grin. “The grape juice is amazing. Way better than anything my mom ever buys as fake alcohol.”

Lance looked to Lance with a smile, pointing down at Pidge. “I like her.”

Allura giggled, coming up and sitting next to Pidge again—uncomfortably close. Again. “I think we all think we all like her,” Allura beamed while smiling at Pidge.

It couldn’t have been possible for Pidge to go back to being red and somehow be more right than before, right?

Wrong.

Pidge averted her gaze quickly, looking into her cup before taking another sip telling herself it was alcohol.

“Oh, right, Pidge, have you given Lance your present?” Plaxum spoke up, coming up and standing in front of the two of them.

Pidge looked up, the color fading some from her face so she only looked like she was blushing along with her smile. “I haven’t; thanks for reminding me.” She reached into the pocket of her sweatshirt, pulling an app store gift card out. She tapped Lance’s leg, leaning back so that she could see around Allura’s back. He made eye contact with her. Her smile grew a little as she held the card out. “Here. I thought this would prove useful being stuck in bed all day with an iPad mini. It has $25 on it.”

Lance gasped and took the card with sheer excitement radiating from his body. “Thank you so, so much, Pidge! You’ve cured my boredom.”

Both of them laughed.

“Thirty seconds!” Lance’s mom announced over everyone—over Pidge and Lance laughing, over Plaxum and Allura giggling while chatting, and over Hunk and Keith talking.

Everyone’s eyes were glued to Lance’s mom now, watching as she took a few steps closer to Keith and put a hand on his shoulder. “Usually, I would kiss one of Lance’s cheeks while Plaxum kisses the other.” She smiled. “I’d like you to take my place this year.”

Keith went red. “Uh… Thank you.”

“Tía Sofia, shouldn’t Lance and Keith get to kiss at midnight?” Plaxum interrupted.

“That’s what I’m telling him to do,” Lance’s mom stated in a confused manner.

“No, I mean kiss-kiss,” Plaxum explained. Lance’s mom knit her eyebrows in further confusion. Plaxum sighed. “ _Un beso en los labios._ ”

“Oh,” Lance’s mom drew out, realizing what Plaxum was getting at. She smiled again, speaking in Spanish in return. “ _No._ ”

“ _Pero Tía,_ ” Plaxum whined. “ _Lance_ —”

“ _Aye, mamá,_ ” Lance complained at his mom. He then said in his English accent while looking to Plaxum, “Plaxum.”

They both shut up.

“No more Spanish, please,” Lance sighed. “No one here understands it but me.”

Keith raised his hand slightly. “ _Yo entiendo._ ”

Everyone’s eyes popped out of their heads. Lance, Sofia, and Plaxum all dropped their jaws.

“You speak Spanish?!” Lance outburst. “Since when?!”

“Um, guys?” Hunk jumped in. “Sorry to interrupt, but there’s eight seconds left.”

Sofia gave Keith a glare and a finger pointing at him. “Only a kiss on the cheek.”

Keith nodded. Pidge sighed, putting a hand down on the bed. Why couldn’t she get a kiss on the cheek? Oh, right, she was too much of a wimp to confess to someone who had already kissed her head.

“Five!” Allura, Plaxum, Hunk, Sofia, and Lance all shouted. “Four!”

Pidge giggled, joining in for the last bit. Keith did, too.

“Three! Two! One! _Happy New Year’s!_ ”

Everyone laughed, watching as Keith kissed Lance’s right cheek and Plaxum kissed his left. Pidge, however, jolted in shock while turning pink. She looked to Allura, who side-glanced at Pidge and gave Pidge a wink before looking down at her cup and grinning, chugging the rest of her drink like everyone else was.

Pidge was left staring in awe.

Allura had put her hand on Pidge’s and given a small squeeze, not letting go after-the-fact.

“Hey.” Hunk leaned his head forward with a plotting smile, talking to both Pidge and Allura quietly. “Why don’t you two kiss?”

Both of them turned completely red. One of them sat wide-eyed, accidentally squeezing her empty cup. The other sat staring daggers into Hunk’s heart and wishing both him and Allura death.

“No? ” Hunk shrugged. “Suit yourselves.” He took a step away and rejoined the bigger conversation.

Pidge let there be a pause of silence between her and Allura, contemplating everything. Allura had kissed Pidge’s head, and now Allura had squeezed her hand at midnight and was still holding her hand. Could that have been a sign? No, possibly not. Pidge was sure it wasn’t.

Then again, Pidge wasn’t the brightest when it came to analyzing the social interactions of someone who wasn’t being so obvious absolutely anyone could figure it out—so, she needed someone to be Lance-obvious. Or as obvious as herself. Otherwise, she just wouldn’t feel certain she was taking things the right way.

Pidge swallowed the lump that was in her throat, looking down at her own drink and hesitating before finishing it off. She put the empty cup in between her thighs, still holding it, and still staring at it. She let the pause continue another two seconds before even looking up at Allura. And then another two seconds before opening her mouth even the slightest bit trying to collect herself enough to say something. And then a second with her mouth partially open before she could get anything out.

“Are you going to let go?”

Allura let out a huff, grinning at Pidge. “Would you like me to?”

Pidge blinked at her, then at her cup, finding it in herself to let loose and look back up at Allura with a grin. “No.”

Pidge couldn’t register the big, loud conversation behind them. All she could register was staring into Allura’s swirling ocean eyes and her gentle, heart-warming grin while her hand stayed on Pidge’s and a silence sat between them. Somehow, it was a comforting silence, not a Pidge-is-freaking-out-too-much-to-say-anything silence.

Of course, they couldn’t hold hands for much long after that, being dragged into the bigger conversation and being told to eat more of the cakes Hunk worked so hard on and being told by Lance’s mom to help eat the candy since she didn’t want her _hijo_ to eat that much candy all by himself. There were chats to be had, laughs to echo, dancing to be done—yes, Allura and Plaxum dragged her into dancing with Hunk and Lance’s mom while Keith and Lance had a moment—and most importantly, smiles to be exchanged.

Even for Pidge. Despite the dancing.

The smiles stayed on everyone’s faces while cleaning up, and even while parting. And Pidge’s became even wider on the bus ride home, which was just Pidge and Allura again. Allura held her hand the whole way to Pidge’s stop, both of them avoiding eye contact in the dim lights.

“Please, don’t avoid my texts or calls,” Allura pleaded as the bus came to a stop.

Pidge sighed. “Sorry, I got really anxious. Didn’t know how to take you kissing my head.” Something dropped in Pidge’s chest, but she ignored it as she finally looked up at Allura and went on. “I haven’t had a best friend that’s a girl before, so I thought only gay fuckboys and pansexual _hunks_ of love held hands and hugged and occasionally kissed each other’s heads.”

Something changed in Allura’s expression as she opened her mouth, but she didn’t get the chance to speak.

Pidge walked out the open bus doors into the snowy night, pulling her scarf up more and breathing into it while trying to hide her blush. As if anyone could see it. It was emotional support for herself. She stepped in the front door, still pink and still grinning. Even if she felt a sinking feeling in her heart, she was still happy she got to hold Allura’s hand twice.

“Hey, kiddo!” her mom called from the kitchen, cleaning dishes. She stepped out while drying a plate, grinning semi-smirk-ish-ly. It weird Pidge out. “A surprise came while you were waiting at the bus stop, but you didn’t have time for it earlier. I suggest you go check your room.” Her mom winked.

Pidge raised an eyebrow. She hadn’t been expecting anything. Did Matt order her something for Christmas that came late? He’d left only two days after Christmas, so it was plausible. She took her coat off and put her scarf and hat where they belonged before running up to her room. Her face dropped. There was no Amazon package in her room. She’d been lied to.

And as if the timing couldn’t be more right, her phone buzzed. She groaned and took it out to see who it was.

 ** _Losershooter_** _sent an image to_ ** _Voltron Club™_** _._

**_Losershooter_** **_to Voltron Club™:_ ** _PIDGE OMG LOOK WHAT KEITH GAVE ME I HAVE DIED AND BEEN REVIVED_

Pidge opened the text to find a picture of Lance holding a necklace that he was wearing, holding it up for show in front of his wide smile and Keith’s grinning face next to him. A heart pendant hanging from the silver chain dangled perfectly in between their faces. Pidge snorted and half-grinned, happy for Lance.

_THAT’S SO AWESOME_

_I take back anything I’ve ever said about Keith being a bad boyfriend_

She set her phone down on her dresser and got into pajamas, went to brush her teeth, and grabbed her phone again before sitting down in her bed and plugging her phone in. She had one message to come back to.

**_Losershooter_** **_to Voltron Club™:_ ** _you’ve said he’s a bad bf??_

_I’m leaving this to Hunk_

Pidge sighed as she typed her response before setting her phone down on her bedside table, not needing to look as she did; she was too busy yawning to look. She pulled her blanket over her, stretching her legs out before taking off her glasses, yet again yawning instead of looking at her bedside table as she set down her glasses on her phone. She then lay on her side and reached out to turn off her light. But her hand stopped, not even lingering far from her body.

There was a little box sitting on her bedside table with a note under it.

She shot up in bed, whipping her glasses off of her phone and shoving them over her wide eyes. She slowly and carefully lifted the box so that she could pull out the note from underneath. There was only four things.

_To: Pidge_

_From: Allura_

Pidge knit her eyebrows, turning it over. There was more.

_I hope you like this; I made it with Plaxum’s help. It was meant for Christmas, but with everything going on, I thought it would be best to wait and give it to you for New Year’s instead. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me in the past month._

Pidge knit her eyebrows further, picking up the box in one hand and putting the note down with the other. She put the box in her lap, carefully sliding the top off. She gawked at the beautifully painted cartoony planet charm on a gold chain necklace. Whether it was a legit gold chain or just painted gold, Pidge wasn’t sure, but she found both probable seeing as it was from Allura.

She set aside the top of the box and left the box in her lap, debating whether or not to take a picture of it as she picked her phone up, but she had more important things to do. She fiddled with her phone for ten seconds, then nodding to herself and turning her phone off. As if fate had it in for her, her phone buzzed as she was setting it down, startling her.

 **_Goddess:_ ** _Goodnight, Pidge ✨_

Pidge let out a breath of relief and responded before setting her phone down for good that night, content with the outcome of her fiddling.

_Goodnight, Allura_

Pidge put her phone down. She picked up the box and stared at the necklace for a good minute before putting the box back on the note and taking her glasses off. She glanced at the necklace as she set her glasses back down on her phone, deciding to leave the box uncovered so she’d remember to wear it tomorrow.

She turned her light off, blushed, grinned, and shut her eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kk so here's the spanish:  
> plaxum: "a kiss on the lips."  
> sofia: yep no is the same in spanish and in english just said differently  
> plaxum: "but aunt, lance-"  
> lance: basically says the equivalent of the english exclamation "oh my god mom"  
> keith: "i understand"


	39. "It's on, Bi Giraffe."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm so so sorry this is two days late!! things got ridiculously busy because school started. i think probably updates will be a little more all over because of school, but i will try my best to stay on schedule!!  
> adri (the artist) and i were wondering, would anyone be interested in mll merch??? we may start making it if enough people would be interested  
> and speaking of adri, she's so sweet, even though she's super busy with college she made art that i had originally wanted for 36 so i went back and added that  
> on a random note, i went back and changed haggar's first name to honerva since i named her janice before we knew her story lmao so yeah that's corrected now  
> now onto a five chapter update
> 
> song: "Nine In The Afternoon" by Panic! At The Disco

Did Pidge respond to Allura’s texts? No. Did Pidge pick up Allura’s calls? Absolutely not. Anxiety overtook her in the morning, leaving her to avoid any texts or calls from Allura for a week.

But today, that was forced to change.

Pidge sat in bed and looked down at her phone in her lap, the cartoon Saturn charm dangling from her neck over her long-sleeve shirt. She was sorrowfully grinning for a completely different reason than Allura.

**_Voltron Club™_ **

_ January 3rd, 2018, 6:18 p.m. _

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ OMG _

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ O M G _

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ KEITH KISSED ME _

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ EN LOS LABIOS _

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ EN. _

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ LOS. _

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ L A B I O S. _

**_Cookie Monster:_ ** _ that means on the lips right?? _

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ Y E   S _

**_Cookie Monster:_ ** _ congrats!! _

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ i can’t believe my first kiss was with someone who’s a crossdressing mullet emo _

Pidge took a deep, slow breath as she read the messages between her two best friends, in disbelief it was already five days ago. There wasn’t much texting in the group chat since, seeing as Lance was too sick to interact much, being burdened with therapy of whatever kind and doctors of all sorts to suck up his energy and leave little for him to use on interacting. But rereading the messages she did have from her two best friends left her with a bittersweet feeling.

She was going back to school without one of them.

She sighed to herself, closing her phone and immediately turning it back on to check the date. 7:24 a.m. on January 8th, 2018. She hopped off her bed and grabbed her sweatshirt off of her desk chair, her desk conveniently placed along the wall in between her bed and the front door to her room while her dresser sat opposite her bed. She shoved her phone in her back pocket, slipping her sweatshirt on and zipping it up. She then grabbed her backpack from leaning up against the leg of her desk and headed downstairs to get driven to school.

The drive was pretty quiet, a typical drive with her mom before school. The only difference was that bittersweet feeling was lingering in her veins. Classes weren’t going to be nearly as fun without Lance. And she just wanted him to be doing better already. It was ridiculous how okay he could seem in conversation, but according to his charts, he was doing so poorly that multiple doctors were genuinely worried about his recovery. Stepping out of the car back into the chilly air still didn’t snap her body out of its heavy feeling. She sighed under her breath before giving her mom a forced grin and waving, walking off so she wouldn’t be late for homeroom at 7:40.

Homeroom didn’t help her overcome the bittersweet feeling, but seeing that Mr. Shirogane still had the Tickle Me Elmo in the front of his room did. She took her seat next to Hunk, the seat on her left empty. The bittersweet feeling hit her hard again, only having left her for the second she snorted at the Tickle Me Elmo. She looked to Hunk, hoping his bright smile would wash away the feeling so she could focus somewhat in class; Hunk, however, had the same feeling painting his face. Pidge put a hand on his arm for a second, both of them looking at the front of the room as Shiro started class. She knew she could at least reach Hunk the slightest bit by pressing her hand against his forearm to tell her she was there for him, as if he didn’t already know that. Both of them being down took a toll on them both, Hunk increasingly growing more and more disgruntled while Pidge’s thoughts were intruded by the empty seat beside her and of the parking garage and New Year’s.

By the end of class, Hunk was looking hopeless enough that Pidge became genuinely worried for his well being. On the way to tech she attempted to think of something to bring to Hunk’s attention that could help him through this patch of school without Lance, though nothing came to mind. Hunk and her walked side by side in silence, walking to their next class.

It was only once they stepped into the technology classroom and looked at the back of the room that something popped in Pidge’s head.

“Hey,” Pidge gently spoke up, giving Hunk a grin. “There’s something I have to talk to Allura about. I’ll see you later?”

Hunk hummed and nodded, giving her a small smirk and leaning down. “Go get her.”

Pidge turned red, vigorously shaking her head. “That’s not… Ugh.” She sighed, giggling at Hunk as he was chuckling. She was glad he was happy for at least that moment before she gave a wave and turned her back to him, walking towards the head of long, wavy silver hair in the back of the room alone.

Pidge sat down in front of the computer on Allura’s right, startling her, though Pidge started to log herself in and simply cut to the chase without looking at Allura. “I’m sorry I didn’t respond to you or answer your calls. Things got hectic and I didn’t have the energy to talk,” she lied quickly so she didn’t have to say she was nervous—she really wasn’t ready to drop that front. “But that’s not what I came to you for.” She sighed, finally looking at Allura with a sorrow-filled frown. “Hunk is really down about Lance not being in school. I’m sure we’re all down about it, but Hunk is  _ really _ down. And I can’t think of what to do for him.” She grinned, watching Allura’s surprised blue eyes. “I was wondering if you had any ideas.”

Allura blinked as a pensive look formed, crossing her arms and staring off into space as she relaxed into her seat. “Hm, what to do for Hunk…” Allura gasped excitedly, pointing behind Pidge.

“What?” Pidge croaked with narrowed eyes, following Allura’s hand. There was a poster pinned to the wall reading ‘The Valentine Ball’ and its details. Pidge grimaced. She’d forgotten their school had an all-grades prom, basically; she’d avoided it every year before. She looked back at Allura with disgust. “You want us to bring him to a dance?”

“No!” Allura exclaimed unhappily with knit eyebrows, shaking her head. “Hunk is lovely, but I was thinking more along the lines of finding him a date that isn’t… well, us.” Allura smiled her smile and Pidge’s brain melted through her skull.

Pidge slowly nodded, looking back at the poster so she could hide her pink cheeks. “That’s not a bad idea. He already likes a girl.”

“Someone named Shay, if I’m not mistaken.”

Pidge’s eye bulged out of their sockets as she whipped her head back around to stare at Allura. “How’d you know?”

Allura giggled, putting her elbow up on the table and putting her head on the back of her hand while her other hand gripped the elbow on the table. “Everyone has figured that out at this point, even without knowing who that is.” Her face dropped. “But I’m not sure that’s happening. They haven’t spoken much. Maybe finding him someone that he doesn’t visibly drool over would be a better course of action to find him a date.” Allura smiled again.

Pidge raised an eyebrow. “Why would that be better when he already likes someone?”

“Just trust me,” Allura hummed.

Pidge gave an unsure half-grin—that was more of a condescending grin than anything—and shrugged. “I guess I will.” She then smirked and crossed her arms over her chest with pride. “But, if nothing else works, I have every right to say ‘I told you so’. And I’m pretty sure I’m going to get to say that.”

Allura smirked back. “Oh, it’s on, Little Lesbean.”

Pidge glared. “Not you, too.”

Allura giggled. “I think it’s cute.”

Pidge glared even more. “It really, really isn’t.”

Allura shrugged, grinning. “It’s fitting.”

Pidge groaned and rolled her eyes, slumping in her chair while looking at her computer. “Well, whatever, Bi Giraffe.”

Allura scoffed, slamming her fist down on the desk while leaning her head forward as she glared at Pidge. “You did  _ not _ just call me a giraffe.”

“A  _ bi _ giraffe,” Pidge corrected while smirking up at her, giving a prideful huff.

Allura scoffed again, crossing her arms and slumping in her own seat. She looked at her computer with a ‘hmph’ as she sat up straight. “Fine, Gay Mouse.”

“Gay  _ Mouse? _ ” Pidge growled with a scorn.

“If I’m a bi giraffe, you’re a gay mouse,” Allura defended, her smirk growing.

“It’d make more sense if you were an elephant,” Pidge grumbled back.

“I am not an elephant or a giraffe!” Allura exclaimed.

Pidge snorted. “Then I guess it’s settled, I’m not a mouse or little.”

“You’re still a Lesbean,” Allura muttered under her breath, but Pidge still heard it.

Pidge groaned. “I’m never going to get away from that nickname, am I?”

“Probably not with your choice of friends,” Allura giggled.

Pidge groaned again. “Either way, whatever. It’s on, Bi Giraffe.” Allura scoffed again, but Pidge went on before Allura could say anything. “Should we get outside help? I don’t know many girls in the school and you’re still pretty new, so we don’t seem like we have all the necessary knowledge for this.”

Allura lit up, completely forgetting about the giraffe insult—as Pidge had planned. “Plaxum! We should get Plaxum involved!”

“Good idea,” Pidge encouraged with a grin.

“I’ll text her,” Allura offered, taking her phone out but still talking to Pidge. “We should get together at lunch. There’s no better time to evaluate lots of girls at our school!”

Allura’s excitement about playing Cupid both warmed Pidge’s heart and made it burst into flames. She sighed, taking her own phone out. “I’ll have to text Hunk that we’re having a girls talk at lunch.” Pidge shuttered at ‘girls talk’ but opened up her messages to Hunk.

_ Hey, sorry, but Allura and Plaxum want to talk just us three at lunch, I’ll make it up to you somehow _

She was surprised to have her phone buzz as she put it down on the table.

**_Cookie Monster:_ ** _ can we visit Lance together after school tomorrow? I’m busy this evening _

Pidge grinned.

_ Sounds like a plan _

“Alright, everyone. I gave you a few extra minutes to talk; now, let’s start class,” Mr. Ulaz shouted over the class.

Pidge shoved her phone away and looked up at Allura, who presumably was staring at Pidge with pink cheeks, a wide smile, and admiring eyes out of eagerness to know Hunk’s reply. Pidge grinned and held a thumb up, getting a small giggle and another thumbs-up back—meaning Plaxum was on board, too.

Everything was good to go.


	40. "Get Hunk a date!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> song: "I Can't Make You Love Me" by Dave Thomas Junior

“Keep your eyes peeled for people that look interesting,” Plaxum reminded with her mouth full as the three of them sat by themselves.

The small circular table was placed right next to the cafeteria doors—meaning they could see the whole room—and only had four seats, with Allura sitting in between Pidge and Plaxum and an extra seat in between Plaxum and Pidge. It totally didn’t make Pidge jealous. Totally.

Pidge groaned. “I still think trying to set Hunk and Shay up would be a better plan than this.”

“Hush hush. This opens up Hunk’s options,” Allura assured.

Pidge groaned again, biting into her food and taking her phone out. She’d spent all of tech next to Allura and now she’d spent five minutes of her lunch next to Allura; her brain was again being invaded by the memory of the parking garage playing over and over. She really,  _ really _ needed to vent.

_ Hey Lance, sorry to bother you, I hope your day is going okay _

_ Hunk and I are going to visit you after school tomorrow _

_ But in the meantime I need help _

“What about him in the corner?” Allura pointed where she wanted Pidge and Plaxum to look.

“No, he seems too… Gang-like? As if he’s in some sort of motorcycle gang and does drugs,” Plaxum said with a sigh.

Pidge glanced where Allura was pointing but didn’t look for long or say anything because her phone buzzed, an ecstatic feeling rushing through her.

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ lucky for you, i have nothing going on yet today so i have some time to text _

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ what’s the problem?? _

Pidge grinned, despite typing out what she was.

_ So uh, long story, but, Allura kissed the top of my head on Christmas Eve and I can’t figure out what to feel about it _

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ UM _

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ WHAT _

“Oh! Over there!” Allura pointed at another person.

Pidge looked up and squinted. “She looks like someone who spends way too much reading about the Kardashian family.”

“Yeah,” Plaxum agreed in disgust.

Allura huffed. “I thought she was cute.”

“But not for Hunk,” Plaxum pointed out.

“Fair enough,” Allura sighed.

Pidge resumed her texting.

_ Well she waited for me after everyone left and in the parking garage she stopped me and started asking about my mental health?? _

_ And then she told me to go to her whenever anything has me down _

_ And then _

Pidge’s texting was interrupted by another outburst of Allura’s.

“Who’s that over there?”

Pidge’s whole face dropped. Allura was pointing was a dark-skinned girl with frizzy, unkempt, dyed-blonde hair and glowing brown eyes, wearing a loose green and yellow dress along with silver hoops and a black devil-horns headband in her head, skipping around the cafeteria in her black high-tops. Pidge would know that glowing face and out-of-the-ordinary clothing style anywhere. Pidge smirked, drawing out her words. “That, my dear Bi Giraffe, is Shay.”

Allura huffed as her eyes narrowed, lowering her arm. “Then that’s not an option. Keep looking.”

Pidge snickered as she looked back down at her phone. Her moment of being uplifted sank back into her state of anxiousness.

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ AND THEN SHE KISSED THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD?? _

Pidge sighed quietly at her phone, Allura and Plaxum too busy talking about other people to notice.

_ Yeah… _

_ And then I didn’t text her until New Year’s _

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ you WHAT _

_ And then I think I accidentally friend zoned her on New Year’s _

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ WTF _

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ H O W _

_ I just _

_ I think I friend zoned her _

_ Now I for sure don’t have a chance _

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ you had one job, and that was getting the girl _

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ get yourself together lesbean _

_ How do you get yourself together _

_ How do you get rid of anxiety _

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ i don’t know tbh _

_ I can’t stop thinking about the parking garage and it just makes me so anxious _

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ well did she say it was just a friendly kiss???? _

_ … _

_ She didn’t really specify… _

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ SO YOU FRIEND ZONED HER??? _

_ Y eah… _

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ ughhhhhh _

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ how are you going to win her over now?? _

_ Did we ever know I had a chance at winning her over? _

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ um she kissed your head, of course you have a chance _

_ Good point _

“Pidge, what do you think?”

_ Sorry Lance, gotta go, but thanks for talking to me _

**_Losershooter:_ ** _ no problemo, see you later _

“Hm?” Pidge lifted her head and shoved her phone away in her pocket.

“I say we give up and try to set Hunk and Shay up,” Plaxum explained.

“But I’m not giving in and losing this competition,” Allura grumbled, glaring Pidge down.

Plaxum gave Allura a weird look. “Competition?” She darted her eyes between Allura and Pidge.    
“You two have a competition over this?”

Pidge shrugged. “I said from the start we should set Hunk and Shay up. Allura thought we should find someone else.”

“He seems like a stalker around Shay! That’s no good,” Allura huffed in defense.

Plaxum sighed. “Sorry, Allura, but I have to agree with Pidge. I think Pidge wins this.”   
Allura groaned, muttering, “I lost to a mouse.”

Pidge smirked. “And I won over an elephant.”

“Won over?” Plaxum questioned with a tilted head. She then straightened it with a gasp of realization. “Oh! Is this one of those bets where if someone loses, they have to go out with the other person?”

“What?!” both Pidge and Allura screeched, both turning red. “No!”

“I’d never agree to such a bet!” Allura nervously continued, waving her hands in an X. She sighed and quickly glanced to the side at Pidge before looking back at Plaxum, still red. “I’d only ever agree to go out with someone if it were genuine, not a bet.”

Pidge coughed. “Same here.”

“But Hunk is creepily head-over-heels for Shay. Shouldn’t we steer him away from her?” Allura continued the argument.

“I think they just need to talk more,” Plaxum said with a shrug. “Crushing isn’t a bad thing.”

Pidge sat there nervously sweating. Was she just friend zoned back? And would Allura find Pidge being head-over-heels for Allura creepy, too?

“I suppose.” Allura grinned. “It surely would be more reassuring if it was clear he wasn’t merely ogling her from afar.”

Pidge squinted up at Allura. “Ogling.”

Allura looked down at Pidge with a puzzled look. “Yes, ogling…”

Pidge clicked her tongue. “Brits.” She looked away.

Allura huffed, leaning her head in again with a glare. “What’s that supposed to mean exactly?”

Pidge shrugged, putting on her ordinary blank face. “Oh, nothing. It’s just a word choice we rarely use.”

“Yeah, I’ve never heard a teenager use ‘ogling’ before,” Plaxum laughed. She was on her phone; she’d taken it out after saying that crushes weren’t a bad thing.

Allura rolled her eyes and groaned, putting one elbow up on the table to place her head in her hand while her other hand was placed elsewhere.

That elsewhere was Pidge’s hand.

Pidge nearly exploded, but she took a deep breath before leaning in to whisper, “Why are you holding my hand?”

Allura gave a small huff, looking the opposite direction of Pidge before responding quietly, “I was getting angry, so I decided to hold your hand and make myself feel better.”

Pidge wasn’t going to pass up that opportunity. She gripped Allura’s hand in return to show support as she whispered again. “Sorry, I didn’t think it would upset you. I was joking around.” And without thinking, she added, “Your British accent is hot.”

Allura whipped her head around, her entire face bright red. Pidge’s face also turned bright red, and now she was the one to look the opposite way.

“Oh, hey, Shay’s in our gym class, isn’t she?” Plaxum suddenly interrupted while staring at her phone, snapping both Pidge and Allura out of their embarrassed trances.

Pidge was both relieved and in agony over Allura’s hand slipping back out of Pidge’s.

“That’s right!” Allura bubbled. “We could start our operation as soon as tomorrow!”

Pidge hummed, taking her phone out to try and compensate for her stomach sinking into the bottomless pits of hell. “I have English with the two of them. They’re on opposite ends of the room, though, so usually nothing happens.”

Plaxum and Allura went on to talk about exactly when they were going to try and what exactly they’d do, though Pidge tuned most of it out while she messaged Lance.

_ Lance _

_ I think I just got friendzoned back _

Pidge watched as Lance typed.

_ you two are a mess _

Pidge couldn’t help but sorrowfully grin to herself.

_ Yeah, we are _

_ I can’t wait to see you tomorrow _

Pidge waited again as Lance typed.

_ why, so you can vent?? _

Pidge snorted at Lance’s response.

_ No, because I miss you in general. It’s weird without you here _

She waited again.

_ awww, thanks pidge _

_ i have to go to pt now, catch you later _

Pidge smiled a little.

_ See you later _

Pidge shoved her phone back in her pocket.

“So, you two ready to try and set up Hunk and Shay tomorrow?” Plaxum asked, putting her fist into the middle of the table.

Allura put her fist in. “I know I am!” She turned to Pidge, smiling. “Are you ready?”

Pidge grinned, putting her fist in too and quietly answering, saying, “Yeah, I am.”

“Get Hunk a date!” Plaxum exclaimed, giggling.

All three repeated,” Get Hunk a date!” while throwing their hands in the air and releasing their fists. They then somehow managed a three-way high-five. Girl powers.

Shit was going to go down tomorrow.


	41. "Ghosts?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> song: "Someone To You" by Banners

The bell rang.

“And that’s all for today! Don’t forget tonight’s homework,” the chemistry teacher yelled over the classroom of squeaking chairs and zipping backpacks.

Pidge sighed as she eyed the empty seat next to her and slowly stood up, taking her phone out to find no messages from Lance, disappointingly. She was supposed to get to see him later, at least, which she reminded herself of while shoving her phone back into her brother’s jersey jacket’s pocket. She looked up to find Plaxum and Allura rushing to the back of the room—towards her.

“Good news and better news,” Plaxum said as soon as she got within earshot in the bustling classroom’s standards of what was earshot; in other words, Plaxum and Allura could only talk standing a few feet away. “Good news is there’s a partner project in my painting class, and my partner is Shay.” Plaxum raised her chin with a proud hum. “I planned that perfectly.”

Pidge raised an eyebrow, in too bad of a mood to give a shit about Plaxum’s art life. “Okay, what’s the better news?”

Plaxum malevolently smiled. “She’s joining us and Hunk for lunch so we can brainstorm what social issue to paint on a fourteen-by-sixteen inch canvas.”

Pidge yawned, simply saying, “Cool,” as blandly as possible to show her lack of care, and walked towards the door. Allura and Plaxum followed behind her, talking about how to set Hunk up.

Pidge didn’t want to try and set Hunk up out of her personal pettiness that morning, honestly. Allura hadn’t texted her about tutoring last night, or about anything at all. Pidge was anxious since it wasn’t like Allura to not even text her once, even if she didn’t respond. After lots of thinking while ignoring classes, she’d concluded she had ruined any chances with Allura and that this setting-up-Hunk gig was bringing Allura and Plaxum together again. That conclusion made her quite petty and she wanted nothing to do with anything romantic or with Allura.

Pidge plopped herself down at their usual table closer to the middle of the cafeteria, where Hunk was already sitting by himself. Allura cleared her throat, leaning down and whispering into Pidge’s ear.

“You should move over so that the only options for Shay are on either side of Hunk.”

Pidge groaned and did so, moving one seat over as Allura sat down next to her. Plaxum sat down on Allura’s other side, leaving two seats open on either side of Hunk.

Hunk knitted his eyebrows at Pidge. “What are you doing?”

Pidge sighed, trying to think up something quickly while fidgeting with her backpack and taking her lunch bag out. “There’s a new rumor that’s a ghost seat.” She whipped out her fork, meant for a salad, and pointed it to the side—at Allura. “Miss Brit here is superstitious.”

Allura huffed and crossed her arms while turning her head the other way. “Don’t be so disrespectful to the spirits.” She turned her head back ever so slightly to glance at Pidge, glaring.

Pidge rolled her eyes, opening her salad container and poking a piece of lettuce continuously. Her mom had packed the salad for lunch, not her. “There’s no scientific evidence supporting any claim of ghosts, spirits, curses, hauntings,” she glared up at Allura, “or anything of the sort.” Pidge was enjoying the act she was putting on with Allura while Plaxum was on her phone, presumably texting Shay. She looked back at her salad and muttered, “Someone could sit in that seat and be perfectly fine.”

Hunk simply sighed. “If you’re going to listen to superstitions, I guess I’ll sit there.”

Hunk raised himself out of his seat, immediately getting, “No!” shrieked at him by Allura, who was holding her hands out to signal for him to stop.

Allura brought her arms back down, clearing her throat. “It would make me a lot more comfortable if no one sat there.”

“If no one sat where?” a soft, high-pitched voice questioned from behind.

Allura pointed across the table, looking to Shay with a worried expression. “Over there. There’s a rumor that seat is haunted. If you sit in it, your worst nightmare will come true.” Allura shuddered.

Shay giggled. “What are you talking about?”

Pidge looked at her with narrowed eyes. “Do you believe in ghosts?”

Shay blinked at them with another giggle. “Ghosts?”

“See?” Pidge said, turning her narrowed eyes to Allura. “Ghosts aren’t real.”

“Yes, they are!” Allura whined.

Shay giggled yet again. “Well, it’s nothing to worry about today. No one will sit there.” Shay took the seat they had set out for her to; Shay sat on Plaxum’s left side, meaning that on Shay’s right was Hunk.

Hunk gave Pidge and Allura the stare of death, figuring out their plan. Pidge smirked and gave a small salute before finally shoving some of the salad in her mouth. Plaxum and Shay began talking, Allura took her phone out, Pidge chewed her salad, and Hunk sat there staring down at the table with bright red cheeks.

“Hey, Hunk, you’re good at creative stuff. Do you have any ideas for our painting?” Plaxum asked to bring Hunk into the conversation with Shay.

Hunk looked up, blushing even harder while grinning. “I’m not very creative.”

Plaxum snorted. “Uh, have you  _ seen _ your cooking and baking?” Plaxum nudged Shay, pointing at Hunk. “Have you tried anything of his? It’s to  _ die _ for. And his designs are beautiful.”

Pidge watched, bored now that she wasn’t needed and nothing interesting was going on while also being disappointed in her salad. And in her own love life.

That boredom and disappointment continued in gym, despite the three girls having to beg Mr. Thace to let them be a five person group rather than a four person since the class was uneven anyway and they were playing badminton matches. It was the perfect way to try and get Hunk and Shay to bond: through teamwork. It was still extremely boring to Pidge. But, Pidge’s time came in English, where Pidge sat in Shay’s spot so that she had to sit next to Hunk. It was only a big deal because they had assigned seating and Pidge ended up getting in trouble for it. Somehow it was disappointing, too, feeling like a routine she hadn’t done in a while—pissing some teacher off and being sent to the main office. There was no thrill to her day since the superstitious conversation with Allura.

The boredom and disappointment sitting in the bottom of her stomach only ensued further while she waited outside of Mrs. Haggar’s room. It didn’t improve when she was brought in, either.

“So, you sat somewhere Mr. Sendak hadn’t assigned you and wouldn’t move,” Mrs. Haggar droned before sighing. “Well, at least neither my ex-husband or I have had to see you in the past month. What made you too busy to misbehave?”

Pidge’s mind immediately went to Allura, but there was no way in hell she was admitting that to her vice principal. She rethought what Mrs. Haggar had said, her eyes suddenly popping. “Wait, ex?”

Mrs. Haggar sighed. “Yes, Dr. Zarkon is my ex-husband.”

Pidge wasn’t sure how to register that her principal and vice principal were divorced.

“How’s it been, tutoring the new student?” Mrs. Haggar suddenly questioned.

Pidge put on the best grin she could force out of herself, still finding herself feeling petty. “Really well. She’s intelligent and a quick-learner.”

Mrs. Haggar hummed. “Have you become friends?”

Pidge darted her eyes to the side, feeling everything in her chest collapse in on itself. “Yeah.” Pidge then smiled genuinely, remembering the diner and the mall and the hospital visits. “In fact, she’s become friends with Hunk and Lance as well.”

“Ugh,” Mrs. Haggar grumbled. “She was supposed to be an influence on  _ you, _ not the opposite way around.”

Pidge shrugged with a smirk. “I guess it’s just more fun to not be uptight.”

 

Did Pidge leave the school with a Saturday detention slip? Yes. Did she wish she hadn’t sat in Shay’s seat? No. Would she tell her mom? Also no. She’d just tell her mom she and the diner gang were going to a movie instead of hanging out at the diner.

But none of that mattered right now.

The door was labeled ‘Lance’, scribbled by a kid’s hand in crayon. Blue, of course. Pidge looked to Hunk standing next to her, needing a grin and a nod from him. She hadn’t barged into Lance’s room, like seemingly everyone did to her house now, since the beginning of December. She took a deep breath and reached for the doorknob, turning it and opening the door. Pidge smirked, her uneasiness slipping away as the room became visible.

“Hey, Losershooter.”

The Latino looked up from stuffing his face with Doritos and playing on his Switch while propped up in his bed on the opposite side of the room. “ _ That’s _ the first thing you say to me, Lesbean?”

Pidge laughed, entering the room and slipping her backpack off to let it fall to the floor before climbing onto Lance’s bed. She climbed over Lance’s legs and scooched herself up so that she was in between Lance’s right side and the wall.

“How was your first weekend back home?” Hunk asked, also dropping his backpack and climbing onto the bed.

Lance shrugged, continuing roaming in Breath of the Wild. Both Pidge and Hunk looked over his shoulder to watch him play as he answered Hunk’s question. “It beat spending weekends at the hospital by a long shot. The doctors were surprised I progressed this quickly after that first week with IV treatments. I’m no longer sick.” Lance’s plain, happy tone turned into a groan. “But I still have three weeks on bed rest, and still no walking without crutches until my back is nearly fully healed.”

Pidge knit her eyebrows. “Usually you don’t even get crutches for back surgery, right?”

“Right,” Lance confirmed with a sigh, going on to elaborate, “but I forgot to mention I sprained my ankle, too, so mix that with the surgery and they think I’m better off using crutches to help me walk until about March or April.”

“That sucks, man,” Hunk sympathized.

“That’s not too long in hindsight,” Pidge encouraged with a grin. “We’ll accommodate them while you need them, no problem.”

Lance smiled. He was still staring at his game, as were Hunk and Pidge. “Thanks guys.”

“Do you still have therapy?” Hunk continued questioning.

Lance nodded. “Yeah, both physical and mental.”

Pidge and Hunk finally stopped watching the game, instead staring Lance down.

Lance rolled his eyes. “Guys, it’s no big deal. I’m doing fine. I promise. I’ll tell you guys when anything’s up from now on.”

“You better,” Hunk whined, getting teary-eyed.

Lance saved his game and closed it, taking the game cartridge out. “How’s friend-zoning Allura going?”

Pidge glared. “How do you think it’s going?”

“You friend zoned Allura?” Hunk questioned.

Pidge sighed, covering her face. “Yeah, I did,” she mumbled into her hands.

Both Hunk and Lance burst out laughing, hearing her say it aloud.

Pidge dropped her hands with a small huff, glaring at both of them. “Yeah, yeah, it’s funny, I get it.”

“I wasn’t expecting that,” Hunk chuckled.

“Oh my god, I have to show you the texts I got yesterday,” Lance told Hunk.

Pidge groaned, changing the subject. “So, what now? Street Fighter championship?”

Lance held the Switch, which was still on, out to Pidge. “Can you go put it in the thing?”

Pidge raised an eyebrow, giving him a look of disappointment. “Seriously? The thing”

“So it’ll connect to the T.V,.” Lance explained. He sighed. “You know what I mean.” Pidge climbed over to get off the bed and headed to the T.V. on a long shelf across from Lance’s bed, making it easy to play video games in bed. Lance then instructed, “Hunk, can you get the two extra remotes and the Breath of the Wild case?”

Hunk nodded and did so as Pidge questioned, “What do you want me to put in?”

Pidge regretted letting Lance choose the game. And the course. Because no matter what calculations she used for braking and acceleration, she couldn’t stop falling off of Rainbow Roads. Plural. But Lance was good at them, and after an hour of doing all three Rainbow Road courses on Mario Kart 8, he was laughing and smiling and looking much more like himself—the relaxed, over-dramatic, energetic Lance Pidge had longed to see in the past two weeks.

“Hey,” Lance called as Pidge picked up her backpack off of Lance’s bedroom floor, Hunk already heading downstairs.

“Hm?” Pidge looked up at him, putting both of the straps over her shoulders.

“Don’t let your nervous friend zone comment get in your way.” Lance accompanied his soft tone with a soft smile. “And don’t let Plaxum get in your way with the trio effort.”

Pidge couldn’t help but smile back. “Thanks, Lance.” She then scrunched her nose. “Wait, how do you know about our plan?”

Lance proudly let out an exhale, crossing his arms with a conceited grin. “I may be on bed rest, but that doesn’t mean I’ve stopped planning for the ball.”

Pidge rolled her eyes with a small laugh.

“And Plaxum told me,” Lance added, his soft smile returning.

Pidge grinned, giving a hum. “Text whenever you have the energy, okay? I’ll respond as soon as I can always.” A thought came into mind. “Oh, by the way, are ghosts real?”

Lance tilted his head with knit eyebrows. “Ghosts? No, probably not…”

Pidge smirked, knowing who she was going to text once she was on the bus and what she was going to text them. “Thanks.”

Lance tilted his head further. “But, like, why?”

Pidge waved her hand. “Long story.”

Lance rolled his eyes with a sigh, relaxing more into the pillows being used to prop him up. “Whatever. You should get going.” He snickered. “I hope you don’t get grounded for the detention note.”

Pidge smirked again. “That’s only if she finds out.”

Both of them broke out laughing, Lance beaming. Pidge remembered him pale and weak, sitting in the hospital bed with barely enough strength to smile for very long. And now he was mostly back to normal. She was able to smile and gave him a wave before turning her back on him.

“That’s my Lance,” she muttered to herself under her breath once out of his room, grinning to herself and heading out.

As soon as she stepped outside in the snow-covered walkway, she whipped her phone out with a mischievous grin.


	42. "We've come a long way."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> song: "A Twist In My Story" by Secondhand Serenade

Pidge was greeted with a displeased Allura in tech sitting down next to her in tech.

“You don’t text me for two weeks, and then you text me keeping score of who does and doesn’t believe in ghosts?”

Pidge simply shrugged. “You seemed quite convinced yesterday.”

“You know what that was for,” Allura hissed. She then composed herself, continuing by saying, “Though, I do admit I believe in spirits.”

Pidge scrunched her nose and scooted her chair away. “I can’t be friends with someone who believes in spirits.”

Allura gave her a glare. “Well, that’s quite rude.”

_ Allura’s face suddenly scrunched and let out a huff while crossing her arms. “Well, that was quite rude.” _

Allura scrunched her nose now. “What are you laughing for?”

Pidge waved her hand while lightly laughing to herself. Allura hadn’t said she was rude since their very first interaction. If anyone had told Pidge back then that she was going to befriend Allura and become really close, Pidge would have told them that they were insane. If anyone had told Pidge what was ahead before that—being assigned to tutoring a gorgeous British transfer student, the fun tutoring sessions, crushing, Plaxum and Allura dating for a week, the diner meetings, the mall trip, falling for Allura, the sleepover, Lance’s suicide attempt, everything—she wouldn’t have believed it. And yet, there she was, sitting next to Allura in tech class while Hunk was in the bathroom and Lance was at home on bedrest. How could she not laugh?

Allura huffed, putting her elbow on the table and putting her face in her hand. “You’re not being very nice.”

Pidge’s laughter seized, the look on Allura’s face making Pidge’s heart sink. There was something solemn about the blank face on Allura’s face, staring at the computer screen in front of her rather than at Pidge. Pidge cleared her throat, looking at her own computer. “You haven’t said ‘that’s quite rude’ since when I introduced you to Mr. Ulaz.” She sighed contently while grinning up at Allura, who was glancing down at her. “We’ve come a long way since then.”

A grin tugged at the corners of Allura’s mouth as she turned back to her computer, a smile forming before she snorted lightly and began laughing while signing herself in. “You’re right. We’ve come a long way.”

The bell rang, beginning class. “I hope everyone remembers that although tomorrow is a drop day, the short essay is due tomorrow,” Mr. Ulaz said over the bell.

 

Lunch was unsuccessful. Shay had to talk to her math teacher, leaving the table to be just Allura, Pidge, and Hunk. Most of the conversation was Hunk ratting the three girls up for trying to set him up the day before. Pidge got the majority of it for the stunt she pulled in English. Gym was also unsuccessful, the girls and boys being separated for the day since the girls were starting their self-defense unit while the boys started their wrestling unit. Pidge, Allura, and Plaxum didn’t appreciate the separation.

Pidge sighed to herself, bored in her regular seat next to Hunk in English. There hadn’t been any chance so far in the class for her to get Hunk and Shay to talk. Her phone softly buzzed, her sliding her book off of her desk so she could hide her phone in it and pretend she was looking at the passage in last night’s chapter of Great Expectations that Mr. Sendak was droning on about the meaning of as class was nearing its end.

**_Allura’s Ex_ ** **_to Hunk’s Cupid(s):_ ** _ have you had any  opening’s _

Pidge opened the group chat.

_ No. Class is too strict for that _

**_Goddess:_ ** _ Ugh, how are we supposed to do this is they don’t interact??? _

**_Goddess:_ ** _ And if class is strict get off your phone!! Don’t get int trouble _

_ It’s fine Allura, I sit in the back and it’s hidden in my book _

_ Oh hey, do you guys have any ideas for when they’re walking out? _

**_Allura’s Ex:_ ** _ what about pushing Hunk into her so he has to apologize and she has to forgive him _

**_Goddess:_ ** _ They could start a conversation that way!! Brilliant Plaxum!! _

Pidge grinned.

_ Thanks Plaxum _

The bell rang, right on time. “Don’t forget to read chapter 4 for tomorrow!” Mr. Sendak yelled lastly while everyone began packing up.

Pidge kept her eyes open, keeping tabs on both Shay’s and Hunk’s whereabouts. As they walked out the door, Pidge saw her chance and gave Hunk a big shove from the side in the sea of students. Hunk stumbled into Shay, both of them turning red as they both regained their balance.

“I’m so sorry,” Hunk pleaded.

Shay giggled. “No worries. Remember when I kicked you while swinging in elementary school? Call this payback.” She gave him a small wink.

Hunk blinked, rubbing the back of his neck. “You kicked me while swinging?”

Shay laughed softly. Everything about Shay was soft. “We’ve come a long way; I’m not surprised you don’t remember. I was swinging, and…”

Shay and Hunk walked and talked, both of them sucked into each other. Pidge stood there with a smirk on her face and plotting sparkles in her eyes, thanking the world for the theme of the day being reminiscing. She got to her next class, pre-calc, and sat down before texting the group chat.

_ Mission accomplished, Hunk and Shay got caught up in talking because of Hunk bumping into her _

**_Goddess:_ ** _ YAY!!! Finally!! _

**_Allura’s Ex:_ ** _ yES!! _

Pidge snorted to herself, putting her phone away. A feeling of resolve settled as class started. Hunk and Shay were talking finally. Pidge had finally accomplished getting them to talk, which understandably made her feel good. Pidge found herself grinning, even though she was in pre-calc.

That was, until her phone buzzed in the middle of class. She took her phone out and looked at the message. Her feeling of resolve disappeared into a void of numbness overtaking her, her eyes losing their glimmer and her posture losing its confidence while her head lost its settlement. She opened her phone to reread the message.

**_Cookie Monster:_ ** _ you did this for me. it’s your turn to do this for yourself _


	43. "I love you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i got SOOOO emotional writing this one omg i hope you all enjoy
> 
> song: "All My Love" by The Icarus Account

Two weeks.

Two. Weeks.

No texting. No calling. No tutoring. Nothing. Nothing outside of school. What made it worse was that today, Tuesday, January 24th, was the last day of school for the week. Midterms began tomorrow. Lance was getting off of bedrest tomorrow. Hunk and Shay were friends. Plaxum and Shay had ended up painting about sexuality together as an ally and a bi. Allura talked to Pidge in every class possible and in lunch. But nothing was really happening. Pidge’s awkward feeling of needing to address the parking garage more and if Pidge had a chance or not sat in the back of her head for two whole weeks. All of this was dawning on Pidge as she gathered her things, the last period of the day wrapping up. To put it simply, it didn’t make Pidge feel at ease.

As though an angel was watching over her, Pidge’s phone buzzed as the last bell of the day rang and she roamed the hallway.

**_Goddess:_ ** _ Hey! Can we get together for some cramming? _

Pidge sighed, looking at the library doors ahead of her in the hallway.

_ Do you want to cram at the library or one of our houses? _

Pidge didn’t get a response. Instead, she got someone running up to her suddenly and jumping on her, giving her the tightest hug she’d had in ages. The air was knocked out of Pidge.

Allura pulled away, giving the soulless Pidge a bright smile. “Today’s officially one month! Of course we have to go to my house to celebrate.”

Pidge coughed and sucked in a long breath to pull her soul back in and gave Allura a weird stare. She didn’t even know what to say. One month? What was Allura talking about? Pidge had no idea what Allura was referring to; she was extremely confused.

“Come on! My dad is already waiting in the parking lot.” Allura grabbed Pidge’s hand, pulling her past the library.

The car ride was a blur. As was being dragged to Allura’s room. Pidge was too caught up trying to figure out what Allura had been talking about. It’d been a month since December 24th. It’d been a month since they visited Lance on Christmas Eve. It’d been a month since the parking garage.

It’d been a month since the parking garage. Could that have been it?

Allura sighed and shut the door to her room, dropping her backpack. Pidge dropped hers too, watching as Allura stormed up to her and got way too close. “This has been going on for far too long and I’m done giving you space.”

Pidge was awoken from her daze, being gently pushed backwards onto Allura’s bed. Her knees were off the edge, making it easy for Allura to straddle Pidge’s hips with her own feet over the edge. Allura put her hands down on either side of Pidge’s head, staring down at Pidge while she kept herself up on her hands and knees. Allura had determination painted all over her face as she stared down at Pidge with no grin or smile. With that look, Pidge finally found it in herself to finally let the front fade, feeling a weight lift from her chest as she took in a deep breath.

Pidge let the breath out in a sigh. “I haven’t been avoiding you, I just don’t know what to make of our interactions lately…” Pidge gulped, being stuck staring up at Allura’s gorgeous face above her. Pidge couldn’t help turning pink while averting her eyes. “Um, what did you mean by one month? Did you… Did you mean for a relationship?”

Allura huffed, drawing Pidge’s eyes back to her. “You’ve avoided me and friend zoned me for a month! A  _ month! _ Absolutely, I want to be girlfriends. I thought kissing you in that garage would make you understand that! But, apparently, it didn’t get through your thick skull, so I’ll come right out and say it,” Allura whined. She took a deep breath, turning red herself and averting her eyes while biting her lip before letting the breath out and staring down at Pidge with a look of determination. “I love you.” Allura leaned down and kissed Pidge’s forehead, holding the touch for a few seconds.

Pidge’s heart stopped, skipping a few beats while her lungs stopped taking air in. Pidge’s mind progressively became fuzzier while her face progressively became redder. Pidge died. The end.

In the pause with Pidge saying nothing while trying to process everything, the confidence and determination wavered from Allura’s face. She pulled back, sitting up on Pidge and towering over her, as usual. Allura looked away, avoiding eye contact as she quietly added, “Unless that isn’t what you want.”

Pidge blinked, snapping out of yet another daze. She pushed herself up, sitting up to hug Allura while Allura sat on her legs. She gently placed her lips as high as she could, which at the moment was in between Allura’s collarbones. She let there be silence between them for a second before she pulled her lips away and rested her forehead against Allura’s shoulder, Allura hesitantly wrapping her arms around Pidge. Pidge moved her hand to hold Allura’s arm, turning her head so that she could look up at Allura. She smiled while her cheeks still glowed pink and red, whispering, “Absolutely, that’s what I want.” She was slightly mocking what Allura had said. Only slightly.

It got a giggle out of Allura, Allura smiling too. “I love you, Pidge,” she softly repeated.

“I love you too, Allura.” Pidge couldn’t help but snort. “I’ve waited so long to hear that.”

Allura giggled again, putting a hand in Pidge’s hair and running it through her hair slowly. “I can’t believe it’s been nearly two months since we met.”

Pidge hummed. “So, we’re… uh… Are we—”

“Yes,” Allura answered Pidge’s unspoken question with some more light laughter.

Pidge laughed a little herself. “So do we count today at the start or last month?”

Allura shrugged, still smiling. “I don’t know. I just needed something that would confuse you and allow me to lure you in.”

Pidge’s face dropped, narrowing her eyes while still looking up at Allura.

“Today’s the day I said I love you,” Allura bubbled before kissing Pidge’s forehead again, then pulling back to look down at Pidge again. “I say that today’s the official start.”

Pidge hummed again, grinning and closing her eyes. “That sounds good to me.”

“How did you know you love me?” Allura questioned, now twirling Pidge’s hair.

Pidge opened her eyes and sighed, mumbling, “Do we really need to talk about that right now?”

“Come on, tell me,” Allura bugged her teasingly.

Pidge sighed. “I just realized before we started doing homework one Saturday.”

“Which Saturday?” Allura continued.

Pidge rolled her eyes but grinned. “The Saturday we went to the mall.”

Allura hummed, now fiddling with Pidge’s hair using both hands. “That day was fun.”

“How about you?” Pidge questioned back.

“When you’d missed school for two days so I came over,” Allura mumbled, now resting her head against Pidge’s.

Pidge closed her eyes again. “Because of my breakdown?”

“Mhm. It was heartbreaking seeing you so distraught. I wanted to kiss you right there and then.” Allura giggled lightly.

Pidge couldn’t help but giggle herself. Everything in her felt warm. Her face was red but relaxed. Her stomach had no butterflies, but her chest was overflowing with heat. Her skin tingled and her blood gushed. Everything felt so nice. Even as they got distracted and began talking about random things like they normally did but while still holding each other. Even as they crammed together. Even as they ate dinner with Allura’s dads. Even as Pidge got picked up and headed home. Even as she did all the last little bits of studying she needed. Even as she watched an episode of Father Brown with her mom. Even as she got ready for bed and drifted off to sleep. Everything felt so warm.

Everything felt so right.


	44. "Finally!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaaa hi i'm so sorry it's been an entire month, school has been kicking my chronically ill butt  
> but here we are with another four chapters!! the plan is to somehow update 48 and 49 either tomorrow or tuesday and then have 50-53 for next sunday and then two chapter updates from then on  
> updates will now be sunday's!! hopefully  
> thanks for all your patience and i hope you enjoy!!
> 
> song: "Friends" by Hedley

Midterms: the best time to freak out, try to relax with friends, and have an existential crisis. Thankfully for Pidge, their first midterm wasn’t anxiety-provoking.

Hunk stretched with a relieved sigh, a smile on his face as usual. “That test was a breeze!”

“All English exams are a breeze,” Pidge groaned, rubbing her eyes. “Ugh, writing so much hurt my eyes.”

A hand was put on Pidge’s shoulder, Pidge looking up to find Allura looking down at her worriedly. “Are your eyes alright? Do you need to go to the nurse?”

Pidge shook her head, turning red from looking at Allura’s eyes. The butterflies were back and somehow worse than they were before yesterday. “I-I’m fine, really.”

“Oh! I got a text from Lance,” Hunk beamed, typing away. “He was wondering if we want to hang out and help him study for midterms.”

“He’s still on bed rest though, isn’t he?” Allura questioned.

Hunk looked up, his heart-warming expression catching both sets of eyes. “He got cleared today. He can come to school Wednesday!”

“It’s quite odd that you have midterms today and tomorrow and then Monday and Tuesday rather than all this week,” Allura commented with a pensive look.

Pidge snorted. “It’s America. Did you expect it to be logical?”

Allura cleared her throat. “Either way, why don’t we meet Lance at the diner?”

“I’ll text him!” Hunk said cheerily, looking back down at his phone.

Allura’s eyes narrowed, a malevolent grin forming. She leaned her head down to whisper next to Pidge’s ear, pointing at a girl at her locker. “Should we get Hunk to ask Shay to join us?”

Pidge smirked up at Allura. “I like your thinking.” She waited to speak again until they’d walked a little closer, then tapping Hunk’s shoulder and pointing at Shay. “Hey, since we’re about to pass her anyway, why don’t you ask Shay to join us at the diner?” Her grin of a smirk turned into an evil smile. “I’m sure no one would object.”

Hunk pouted. “What did I do to deserve this treatment?”

Pidge shrugged, her typical blank expression returning. “You chose us as friends.”

“Come on, Hunk!” Allura encouraged with a wide, endearing smile. “It would be so much fun if she joined us as well!”

Hunk sighed, turning red while averting his eyes and rubbing the back of his neck. “I don’t know… She doesn’t seem like the type of person to go to diners with large friends groups.”

Pidge gave him a disappointed stare with narrowed eyes and a frown. “Large? If we bring her, that makes six people plus Keith whenever he can talk.”

“Six?” Allura questioned with a puzzled look, holding her fingers up and counting silently. “Who am I forgetting?”

“Well, if we invite Lance on his first day off, Plaxum is going to come, too,” Pidge explained with a groan, jealousy rising. “It’s inevitable.”

Pidge shook her head a little, surprised at herself. She was thankful she shook her head after saying it was inevitable; it would have seemed like it was part of her explanation rather than at her own thoughts. Why would she be jealous of Plaxum?

_“I love you.”_

Pidge’s heart twisted while her eyes widened and her cheeks turned bright red. Her heart beat came back after a second while blood seemingly scraped the insides of her veins, leaving a burning sensation. She looked down at her feet with a gulp, trying to stop everything and shove the idea that she and Allura were dating away. It would take a while for Pidge to not get overly embarrassed and giddy about the relationship.

Allura leaned in close again. Her breath breezing against Pidge’s ear as she spoke didn’t help her already racing heart. “Feeling jealous of Plaxum now that we’re dating?”

Pidge’s face dropped entirely and lost color. She stopped walking and turned her head with narrowed eyes pointed at Allura. “It’s only the first day. Why would I be jealous?”

Allura giggled, grinning endearingly as she stopped as well. “It’s okay, don’t worry. This is nothing like Plaxum and I’s relationship.”

Pidge’s cheeks burned again. She quickly whipped her head around so she wasn’t staring at Allura anymore. This meant she was watching Hunk as he nervously talked to Shay. Pidge must’ve missed Allura convincing Hunk to run ahead to Shay down the hallway while Pidge was busy in her head. She gulped, thinking over what Allura had said. She nervously glanced at Allura. “A-Are you sure?”

“Positive.” Allura gave Pidge her heart-warming smile.

“Hey, guys!”

Both Pidge and Allura jumped and whipped their heads around to find Plaxum standing behind them, grinning.

“Lance got off of bed rest today. Should we do something special for him?”

Pidge sighed before muttering under her breath. “Right on time.”

“What?” Plaxum asked obliviously.

“Hunk, Pidge, and I are going to meet him at the diner,” Allura cut in before Pidge could say anything more to Plaxum. She quickly shot Pidge a glare, making Pidge snort at the fact that Allura knew what Pidge had muttered. Allura then put her smile back on and looked to Plaxum again, pointing ahead. “Hunk is inviting Shay to come as well.”

“If Keith is working, then this will be perfect!” Plaxum exclaimed.

Allura grabbed Pidge’s hand with a smile and a wink. Pidge’s heart raced, her cheeks burned, and Allura’s smile was contagious. Allura giggled slightly before turning her attention back to Plaxum. “Let’s go before we miss the bus.”

 

They missed the bus. That meant it took them a good half hour to get to the diner, having had to wait for another bus for twenty minutes and then wait out the ten minute ride over. Pidge didn’t exactly enjoy having Allura pay attention to Plaxum for the twenty minute wait while holding Allura’s hand and then being pushed up against Allura because of the crowded bus for ten minutes, to say the least.

The bells on the door of the diner jingled as the five of them filed in.

“The group grows,” a new voice commented as he walked over with a grin, the entire group silencing and gawking—except Shay, who stayed silent out of confusion.

He seemed like an entirely different person. With his hair up in a ponytail, he somehow didn’t seem girly at all. Then again, having a button down and black khakis also took away from the girliness Pidge had originally grown accustomed to. This _was_ only the second time she’d seen him at work without a dress, to be fair.

The red heels, though, did not.

“You’re still wearing heels?” Allura questioned.

The boy in front of the gawking group sighed, his grin dropping. “I don’t have the money to buy my own dress shoes yet, so I’m still borrowing these.” Keith wiggled one of his heels.

Hunk pointed at Keith with narrowed eyes, inching closer to Keith. “And your hair… is up?” He ended up being way too close, about to poke Keith’s nose.

Keith took a step back and rubbed the back of his neck. “Is that a problem?”

Pidge snorted with a smirk. “Don’t let Lance see you like that; he’ll have a heart attack.”

“Oh, you wouldn’t believe what he’s seen me in.”

Allura steamed red, Pidge and Hunk nearly choked on air, Shay blushed and looked away while still confused about the conversation at hand, Plaxum looked as though she could murder Keith right there and then, and Keith smirked triumphantly.

“Alright, so how many?” Keith asked after a second for everyone to collect themselves.

“Six,” Allura bubbled.

“Lance should be here soon,” Hunk jumped in, beaming.

Keith smiled for the first time ever. Or well, it felt like the first time to Pidge since he rarely showed his teeth. “Lance is coming?”

Hunk excitedly nodded in response.

Plaxum grinned and gave a small giggle. “He was cleared from bedrest today.”

Keith’s face dropped into a subtle pout as he muttered, “He didn’t text me about that,” while grabbing some menus. Keith sighed, holding his hand out. “This way.”

“Cheer up, Keith,” Hunk encouraged, being the ball of sunshine he was. “I’m sure Lance wanted to surprise you.”

Keith sighed again, stopping in front of a table without saying anything else about Lance. “Here’s a table for six.”

Pidge took the seat closest to her and sat down at the circular table, immediately beginning to turn back and forth in the spinning stools. “When is Lance coming?”

Hunk sat down a seat over from Pidge, the seat closest to himself. “He should be here any minute…”

“Will he be able to sit in these?” Plaxum questioned, spinning the stool on the other side of Hunk with her hand—leaving a seat empty in between Hunk and Pidge, on Pidge’s right.

Plaxum shot Pidge a quick wink, which Pidge returned, Pidge figuring out Plaxum’s plan. Allura would sit on Pidge’s left while the seat in between Pidge and Hunk would be left open for Shay to sit in. It was another perfect set-up.

Plaxum turned her attention back to Keith. “Since his back is what he had surgery on, he has trouble sitting without support.”

“There are stools with backs that I can bring over,” Keith cut in with a grin before turning. “Be right back.”

Before Keith could leave, Allura sat down on Pidge’s left, quickly catching Pidge as she turned Allura’s way and plopping a kiss on Pidge’s cheek. Pidge turned bright red and wanted to die on the spot, of course. Especially since all eyes were on them now.

Plaxum smirked a grin and leaned towards the two of them with a hum. “What’s this? Are you two finally dating?”

Pidge’s skin burned at her status being referred to aloud. She gulped and put on a nervous grin while averting her eyes. Allura was nervously smiling and blushing too, but she reached out and grabbed Pidge’s hand, lacing their fingers together.

“Yes, we’re dating.”

Hearing it come from Allura’s mouth in front of other people make every muscle in Pidge’s body turn into lava while her bones turn into brittle amber.

“Finally!” Hunk, Plaxum, and Keith exclaimed together, both excited and relieved from annoyance.

Everyone started giggling. Pidge even giggled, despite being extremely overwhelmed. Allura must have noticed Pidge’s state because Allura began rubbing the back of Pidge’s hand with her thumb in a supportive manner. Pidge found the gesture calming. Even though she was embarrassed, everything still felt right.

“Congratulations!” Shay quietly added once the laughter died down, sitting on Plaxum’s right—leaving the seat in between Pidge and Hunk empty still, meaning she was sitting in between Plaxum and Allura, and ruining their plan.

“I’ll go get that stool,” Keith informed, turning again and finally walking away.

“So,” Hunk began teasing as he leered at Pidge and Allura while smiling evilly, “when did this start?”

Pidge had a feeling they weren’t going to hear the end of this.

“We became official just yesterday,” Allura answered.

Pidge glared up at Allura, wishing Allura wouldn’t give in and play along with their teasing.

“Wow, really? Only yesterday? But you already look so natural together!” Shay bubbled.

Pidge did not appreciate having another excitable, nosy person added to their group. Allura continued talking to the others, Pidge staying quiet while staring at the table blankly. She was beginning to wish she’d just gone home after the English midterm, at home playing games or reading up on new conspiracies and scientific theories. She would have been much happier at home alone—or with Allura for ‘tutoring’—than she was right now. The embarrassment and nervousness were too much.

That was, until the bell on the door jingled. Pidge turned her head, everything in her easing and lighting up as a smile came to her face.

The Latino with a crutch under each arm gave a small wave and smiled back.


	45. "Are dates required?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> song: "Friends" by Hedley

“Lance!” Pidge nearly screamed, about to jump out of her chair. She stopped herself, remembering Lance’s injuries and decided it’d be better if he sat down and then she hugged him.

Everyone’s heads turned, gleaming as smiles widened as everyone greeted him.

Lance turned red, rubbing the back of his neck while laughing out of embarrassment before returning his hand to his crutch and slowly making his way over.

“How’s the ankle?” Hunk questioned as Lance got closer.

“It still needs some time,” Lance shrugged lightly, hobbling while putting both crutches on one shoulder so he could hoist himself up into the stool in between Pidge and Hunk—only using one arm.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Hunk worriedly chattered. “Keith’s bringing a stool with a back…”

“I’m good,” Lance assured with a wave of his hand. “I’m wearing my back brace under my shirt.”

Pidge gently reached out, wrapping her arms around Lance. She could feel the plastic and metal of the brace through his shirt but didn’t care. Hunk joined in, a gentle group hug forming.

“Now it’s a bodyguard sandwich for Lance,” Pidge commented chipperly to try and make Lance laugh grinning up at him.

“Have you guys kissed yet?” Plaxum asked, invested in a conversation with Shay and Allura.

Allura was blushing and nervously giggling. “No, not yet.”

“It’s only been a day,” Shay reminded Plaxum with a small laugh. “Give them time.” Shay teasingly smirked at Allura.

Pidge grimaced with a scrunched face of disgust while Hunk snickered at the girls’ conversation, both of them anticipating what would come out of Lance’s mouth next.

“What are they talking about? Who’s Allura dating?”

Pidge sighed, Hunk telling Lance for her with the movement of his hand. Lance’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped, staring Pidge down. Pidge turned red and looked away.

“You started dating Allura and didn’t tell me?!” Lance exclaimed, followed by a huff and him crossing his arms and tilting his chin up in the opposite direction. “I thought we were best friends, but I guess not.”

Pidge sighed, her eyes returning to him and narrowing. “It just started last night, Lance.”

“Lance?”

Pidge was saved by none other than Keith.

Lance tilted his head upside down with a smile. “Hey, babe.”

Keith leaned down and kissed Lance’s nose before shifting and holding the new stool up. “I brought a more comfortable seat for your back.”

Lance smiled. “Thanks, but I’m good where I am.”

“You sure?” Keith questioned blankly.

Lance gave him an upside-down nod.

“Okay. I’m really proud of how much progress you’re making. You’re doing great,” Keith softly praised. He leaned in again, this time straight-up kissing Lance. Pidge groaned at the interaction.

Keith turned to Pidge with a glare. “Don’t groan when you have a partner yourself.”

Pidge was no longer saved by Keith.

Lance glared at her again. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me,” he muttered.

“Cheer up, Lance,” Plaxum cut in. “At least she didn’t screech in your face about it—or over text—like you did.”

Everyone laughed lightly while Lance groaned, crossing his arms again.

“I’ll go put this away and then take orders,” Keith informed before walking off.

“How much does he work?” Hunk questioned. “He’s even here on a Thursday afternoon…”

Lance shrugged. “He works whenever he can. Midterms are an extra-pay week in his eyes.”

Pidge hummed with a sparkle in her eye. “I should work here.” If anyone thought she didn’t want to earn money for more video games and a new laptop, they were sorely mistaken.

Allura snorted, nudging Pidge’s arm softly with her elbow. “As if your mum would let you.”

Lance scrunched his nose. “You’re dating someone who says mum.”

Pidge looked at him with raised eyebrows and a done-with-this-shit frown. “You’re dating someone who wears bright red heels at work.”

“She’s got you there,” Hunk laughed.

Pidge smirked, putting an elbow on the table and putting her chin on the back of her hand. “Be careful, Hunk. You like someone who wears a black hairband with horns to school most of the time.”

Hunk eagerly shushed her, whipping his head from Pidge to Shay back to Pidge and so forth while waving his hands at Pidge. “Shh! She’s right there!”

Pidge’s smirk grew. “Isn’t that more reason to say it? And even more reason to continue the conversation? Loudly?” Pidge’s voice grew, too, but not by much—just enough to tease Hunk further.

Lance couldn’t hold back and snickered along with Allura, who had been giggling the whole time.

Hunk huffed, mumbling, “You guys suck,” under his nervous breath while he still eyed Shay.

Shay, lucky for him, was busy talking about art class with Plaxum. The other four calmed down, though it wasn’t calming for Pidge since a silence settled in.

Keith came back, standing behind Lance and Pidge. “Alright, what can I get everyone?”

Everyone gave their order, Keith smiling when everyone was done. “I’ll be back with your orders. I’m going to take my break to come sit with you guys, if that’s okay.”

Brushing aside the oddity that was Keith smiling while working, an idea sparked in Pidge’s head, eyeing Plaxum—she was pretty sure Plaxum had the same idea since Plaxum stared back and gave a nod. Once Keith had taken everyone’s order, Pidge gently tugged on Keith’s sleeve, bringing him in.

“You see that girl over there, in between Plaxum and Allura?” Pidge quietly pointed out. Keith nodded, allowing Pidge to continue. “Her name is Shay. Hunk has a crush on her. When you take your break, can you insist to sit in between me and Lance so that Hunk and Lance have to move over? Then Plaxum will insist to switch spots with Shay so Hunk and Shay sit next to each other.”

“Got it,” Keith quietly responded. He then spoke up, writing something down on his notepad. “I can definitely do that for you.”

They exchanged smirks before Keith walked away again.

“So, are you guys going to go on a date soon?” Plaxum continued her badgering.

“Or how about the Valentine Ball?” Shay questioned.

Both Pidge and Allura exchanged looks, thinking the same thing with wide smiles—which to others would look like an exchange about the two of them going to the ball. But it wasn’t.

“I don’t think we’ve gotten quite that far yet,” Allura laughed, looking back to Shay. “I wasn’t aware people were already getting dates. Do you have one?”

Plaxum looked to Pidge and gave a tiny thumbs-up no one else would have noticed, Pidge giving a close-to unnoticeable nod.

Shay blushed intensely, slouching over and awkwardly rubbing her hands between her legs while darting her eyes all over. “Um, no, not yet…”

“Hey, Hunk, have you got a date?” Plaxum added, bringing him into the conversation.

Hunk rubbed the back of his neck while turning pink, looking down at his lap. “I wasn’t planning on going…”

Lance gasped, slapping his hands down on the table. “What do you mean, you weren’t planning on going, Hunk?!” Lance huffed and crossed his arms as Hunk lifted his head. “I worked on the committee! You _ have  _ to come and see my masterpiece.”

Hunk gulped. “But—”

“No but’s,” Lance huffed. “I worked on the decorations and catering from. My. Bed.” He stuck a finger out, pushing it into Hunk’s chest twice. “You’re going.”

“Are dates required?” Hunk hesitantly asked.

“Yes,” Lance, Plaxum, Allura, and Pidge all chimed.

Hunk groaned. Shay was quietly sitting with her bright red cheeks staring at her lap. Everyone else noticed him eyeing her—as usual. “Can it be platonic?”

Lance shrugged. “It can. But it’s called the  _ Valentine _ Ball for a reason.”

“‘It’s a place for love to bloom by Cupid’s arrow,’” Plaxum recited from the poster, using a childish voice with sparkling eyes and her hands on her face. Her face and hands then dropped, her arms crossing on the table. “I already regret saying that.”   
Everyone laughed a little while Lance huffed for the millionth time.

“That line is tradition!” he defended.

“That doesn’t mean it’s not the dumbest shit our school has come up with,” Pidge said with a snort.

“Speaking of school, have they got a plan for catching you up?” Hunk questioned Lance.

Everyone started small conversations, Plaxum and Allura talking to Shay while the typical trio talked between themselves. It wasn’t much longer before Keith came with their food.

“And my own stack,” Keith ended with, everyone having been served. He peered around. “Hey, could you guys move over? I want to sit next to Lance.” He smiled at Hunk and Lance.

The guys moved with no argument, Keith helping Lance move his crutches and prop them back up against the table again. Keith sat down, nodding at Plaxum. The plan was going perfectly.

Plaxum took over, standing up and holding her hands out to her seat. “Hunk, why don’t you take my spot? I want to sit next to Lance too,” she smirked—knowing Shay couldn’t see her face but Hunk could—before she added, “and I’m sure Shay would prefer to sit next to you than boring ol’ me.”

Both Hunk and Shay frantically tried making excuses over each other, Pidge having to hold back laughter and accidentally snorting.

“Oh, come on,” Plaxum insisted sternly while still grinning, swapping her and Hunk’s plates. “Switch with me.”

Both Shay and Hunk silenced. Hunk hesitated before getting up and switching, slowly sitting down next to Shay. The two of them glanced at each other and immediately whipped their heads opposite ways, blushing like middle-schoolers. Hunk looked down and twiddled his thumbs while Shay simply looked around the room. The childishness of their crushing bothered Pidge, as usual.

“It worked!” Allura excitedly whispered to Pidge.

Pidge grinned up at her, taking in her eyes. Allura’s eyes were always fascinating and calming to stare into. “Yeah,” she whispered back, easing a bit. “It’s working.” She smirked a little with a light laugh. “Just like all their schemes for us worked.”

“We’re simply returning the favor,” Allura agreed with a small wink.

Pidge’s heart fluttered, but she surpressed her cheeks from burning as much as she could. She didn’t want to show how head-over-heels she was just yet, thinking she hadn’t already. She wasn’t the most insightful, per se.

“So, are we going to get together on Saturday too?” Lance questioned, starting up a group conversation.

“That sounds good to me,” Hunk beamed.

“Yeah!” Plaxum agreed with a big smile, turning to Shay. “You should join us again, too, if you can!”

Shay giggled, scratching the side of her face. “I’ll definitely try!”

“Are you two going to come?” Keith asked, looking at Allura and Pidge.

“As always!” Allura bubbled.

Pidge looked up at Allura, getting lost in her beautiful demeanor for a second.

“What about you, Pidge?” Keith added.

Pidge looked at him, smiling as she slipped her hand into Allura’s under the table and slightly startling Allura. “Yeah, I’ll come.”

Pidge looked up at Allura, who was looking down at her with a look of endearment and pink cheeks. Pidge blushed a bit herself and her smile widened into a gentle, endearing one in return.

The rest of the lunch was pretty typical for the group, including lots of teasing, complaining, chatting about school, talking about events, and discussing Voltron. Pidge held Allura’s hand through it all.

“Alright, my break’s over,” Keith said with a sigh, getting up from his seat. He took everyone’s plates and grinned. “I’ll see you guys Saturday.”

Everyone said something like, “See you Saturday!” or, “Bye, Keith!”

The table split into separate conversations again, Plaxum and Shay talking to Allura again. Pidge sighed with relief, grinning at Lance for a moment of softness. The rare moments that Pidge shed her bitchiness for.  “I’m glad you’re getting better.”

Lance grinned evilly. “Should we celebrate?”

It had been a long time since the three had partaken in their mischievous rituals, but Pidge immediately knew what Lance was implying. Pidge malevolently smiled. “What are you thinking specifically?”

“How about bringing in a friend for Mr. Shirogane’s Tickle Me Elmo?” Lance put forward.

“Guys?” Hunk softly spoke up, though Pidge went on.

“I like your thinking. They had talking Abby dolls, didn’t they?”

“Guys,” Hunk said a little louder.

“Abby? Who’s Abby?”

“The fairy? Who had her own separate show on PBS?”

“Guys!” Hunk finally interrupted.

“What?” both Lance and Pidge questioned.

Hunk pointed towards the door. “You should probably stop talking about this for now. And uh…”

Pidge looked where Hunk was pointing. There was a brown-haired man who was looking away from them, but Pidge could just barely see a brown eye. She narrowed her eyes out of confusion and reached across the open seat to tug on Lance’s shirt, getting him to turn in his seat, too. “Are Hunk and I insane or is that Matt at the counter?”

Lance narrowed his eyes, turning to look. Someone walked over to brown-haired man who had dyed white bangs and black hair elsewhere with a buzz on the lower half. All three jaws dropping while Lance exclaimed, “Mr. Shirogane?!”

The smiling man sat down, slipping his hand into Matt’s.

The restaurant silenced as Lance and Pidge banshee-screeched over everyone.


	46. "Some situations call for screaming like a banshee."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> song: "Friends" by Hedley

Their screaming got the attention of the two men. Pidge running with her arms behind her also got the attention of the two men.

“Weeb,” Matt scoffed under his breath, glaring Pidge down as she approached him.

“What are you doing here?!” Pidge shouted, stopping in front of him and pouting at him. “You didn’t tell us you were coming into town!”

“Well what are _you_ doing here?” Matt questioned, very clearly annoyed. “I was going to surprise you and mom again.” Matt sighed, chuckling a little and grinning. “I guess that plan has been foiled.”

“You can still surprise Colleen,” Mr. Shirogane reassured.

“That’s true, but it would have been more fun to surprise both of them.” Matt looked back at Pidge and smiled. “So, what are you doing here?”

“Midterms week. English was this morning,” Pidge explained bluntly. She looked down, finding interlocked hands. “So, uh,” she pointed down while looking back up at Matt with narrowed eyes, “are you going to elaborate?”

Mr. Shirogane chuckled at Matt. “You never told her?”

“You’re her history teacher right now!” Matt hissed worriedly. “Why would I have told her?”

Pidge sighed, crossing her arms. “How long has this been going on for?”

“A month as of today,” Mr. Shirogane bubbled.

“Ugh, on Christmas? That’s so cheesy, but whatever,” Pidge groaned. She then took a step forward and leaned in, giving him a stare of death. “You hurt my brother, I hurt your reputation.”

Matt laughed, grabbing the back of Pidge’s shirt and gently pulling her away from Mr. Shirogane. “You don’t need to worry, Pidge; Takashi has been good to me.”

Pidge looked at him with disgust. “You’re calling him Takashi now?”

Mr. Shirogane laughed. “Only sometimes. He still calls me Shiro most of the time.”

“And I’m stuck with Mr. Shirogane,” Pidge groaned.

“Well, we’re not in school right now,” Mr. Shirogane pointed out, still beaming. “As far as anyone is concerned, we’re just family friends bumping into each other unexpectedly.”

“Fine. But it still stands.” Pidge got in close again. “You hurt him, I hurt your career.”

“Your brother is dating our history teacher?” Hunk questioned from behind Pidge, getting everyone’s attention as he walked Lance over—one of Lance’s arms slung over Hunk’s shoulders.

“Our history teacher is gay?” Lance added.

Matt sighed, frowning at Pidge. “Is that what you were screaming over?”

Pidge crossed her arms and squared her shoulders defiantly. “Some situations call for screaming like  a banshee.”

Matt’s face dropped, his eyes narrowing. “And this was one of them?”

“Of course it is!” Lance cut in. “You and Mr. Shirogane are _dating!_ ”

“What are the odds?” Hunk laughed.

Mr. Shirogane cut in before Matt could. “Matt and I have been best friends since we were kids. We went to high school together. And, please,” he gave a gentle smile, “call me Shiro.”

Matt looked at Shiro with narrowed eyes, pointing over his shoulder at the three teenagers. “You complain about these three all the time. Why would you tell them to call you by your nickname?”

Shiro kept smiling. “They’re good enough students, and they’re Pidge’s best friends. I just haven’t met them outside of school before.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Shiro,” Hunk beamed.

“Yeah, nice to meet you, Shiro,” Lance joined in.

“It’s nice to meet you three here. Do you regularly come here?” Shiro asked.

“Yeah,” Hunk answered.

“We meet every Saturday for brunch,” Pidge added.

“With the other people at our table, too,” Lance added further.

“Do you talk about weeb stuff?” Matt teased with a smirk.

Pidge glared him down but Lance answered, “No, but we did start meeting here to talk about Voltron.”

“Voltron?” Shiro questioned, surprised. “As in the movie Matt and I showed you years ago?”

“Pidge showed it to us and we started an out-of-school fan club,” Lance explained proudly.

“It was just us three for a long time,” Hunk jumped in, ruining Lance’s act. “But now our group is growing.”

“Not everyone at the table right now has seen it,” Pidge admitted with a shrug. She grinned. “But we’re working on it.”

Hunk hummed, looking to Lance. “Has Plaxum seen it?”

“No, but she’s read the comics,” Lance sighed. “I’ll lure her into watching it someday.”

“Why are you guys over here?” Plaxum came up to them, Shay and Allura not far behind.

Pidge sighed, holding a hand out. “This is my brother, Matt,” she shifted her hand over, “and this is his boyfriend, our history teacher and my family friend.”

Plaxum snorted. “So is the whole town gay?”

“No,” Lance answered with a malevolent smile, looking Hunk dead in the eyes. “Hunk and Shay are straight for each other.”

The two, yet again, turned red and glanced at each other before quickly looking away and avoiding any more eye contact.

Pidge fist-bumped Lance, saying in a low tone, “Welcome aboard the shipping train.”

“If this is a shipping train, I’m the captain,” Lance joked back in a low tone.

“Shiro? Since when do you have a boyfriend?”

Everyone turned to wide-eyed Keith, who was standing behind the counter putting what presumably were Matt’s and Shiro’s orders.

“Sorry, Keith,” Shiro chuckled. “We only started being open about it a week ago. I guess I forgot to tell you.”

Keith rolled his eyes with a deep breath. “Typical you.”

“Wait, how do _you two_ know each other?!” Lance exclaimed, flailing his free arm.

Keith shot a glare at him. “What are you doing out of your seat without your crutches?”

“I’ve got him. Don’t worry, dude,” Hunk reassured Keith, brushing aside his blushing.

Keith turned his glare to Hunk. “He should be using his crutches.”

“Babe, I’m fine,” Lance insisted with a smile.

“Hold on,” Shiro interrupted, everyone turning to him again while he looked between Keith and Lance. “ _This_ Lance is the Lance you’re dating?”

Keith turned red, averting eye contact with Shiro. “Yeah, what of it?”

Shiro laughed. “I have him first period every day.”

Keith choked and looked at the standing group of teens “You guys are juniors at Garrison High?”

All of them nodded.

“Lance didn’t tell you?” Allura questioned.

Pidge and Plaxum both snickered, earning them glares from both Lance and Keith.

“How do you know Shiro?” Hunk asked Keith.

“Keith is my cousin,” Shiro explained for him, getting a groan out of Keith.

“Small world,” Matt laughed.

Everyone laughed except Pidge, who yawned. Even though she wasn’t contributing much and found herself feeling exhausted all of a sudden, she was enjoying the conversation and her time at the diner. Until Allura slipped her hand into Pidge’s and kissed the top of her head, softly asking, “Are you doing okay? You look quite tired and haven’t been saying much.”

There was a glint in Matt’s eyes, which usually meant he’d push his glasses up on his nose. “So, you finally scored Community Service Girl?”

Allura turned red while Pidge tilted her head back and groaned at the heavens.

“Yeah, they started dating yesterday,” Lance answered for her with a mocking smile.

Pidge glared at him. “God I hate you.”

“The town really is gay,” Shiro laughed.

Allura cleared her throat, avoiding eye contact with anyone. Her voice was a bit shaky. “Shouldn’t we let these two enjoy their meals before they get cold?”

“Good point,” Hunk agreed with a smile.

Shiro chuckled. “It was nice talking to you all.”

“See you tomorrow, Shiro!” Lance said, smiling too.

“Enjoy your date!” Hunk beamed before helping Lance back to the table.

Plaxum, Shay, and Allura all said short, small goodbyes before heading back. Keith simply walked off. Pidge put two fingers to her eyes, then turned them to Shiro—the ‘I’m watching you’ fingers. Matt and Shiro both laughed, Shiro then ruffling both sets of light brown hair. Pidge held a hand up and turned, walking back to the table and taking her seat. Shay, Hunk, and Plaxum were already talking again while Lance was texting—presumably Keith.

Allura leaned in with a puzzled look. “‘Community Service Girl’? What was that all about?”

Pidge sighed. “That’s how he referred to you at the start since the tutoring is technically community service.”

Allura hummed. “I suppose you’re right.”

“Uh oh, you can’t date teachers.” Lance got their attentions and cracked an evil smile.

Pidge glared at him. “You like a trap.”

“He is not a trap!” Lance defended with a narrowed eyes.

Pidge smirked. “Basically.”

Lance grumbled. “He is not.”

“Yeah, he kinda is.”

Lance groaned, slamming his hands down on the table dramatically and getting everyone’s attention before exclaiming, “There’s only one way to settle this!”

Pidge’s smirk only grew. “Oh yeah, and what’s that?”

Lance’s mouth curved up and peeled into a malevolent smile.

“You. Me. Dance off.”


	47. "It's razzle-dazzle time!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> side note: ignore any comments from deadinside69420 he's an abomination to this earth (that's the bf i complained abt ages ago and he insisted on starting to comment stuff about symbolism. on every chapter. so ignore that :) fucking bitch (i love you)
> 
> song: "Verge" by Owl City and Aloe Blacc

Pidge snorted. “We haven’t had one of those in forever. Can you even dance with your crutches?”

Lance smirked again. “I’ll get help from Hunk or Keith.”

Pidge’s grin dropped. “Is that a good idea?”

“Sorry to interrupt, but what’s this about a dance off?” Shay hesitantly asked.

Hunk sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. He was still somewhat embarrassed being around Shay and everyone could tell. “Lance, Pidge, and I used to play Just Dance all the time.”

“Is everyone free to come over? Everyone’s invited.” Lance smiled innocently.

Hunk’s embarrassment vanished, being replaced with excitement. “I’m free!”

“I could come, if that’s okay,” Shay gently put forth.

“I’ll come!” Allura bubbled.

“And I live there,” Plaxum sighed.

Malevolence leaked back in and took over the innocence in Lance’s smile. “Now we just need Keith.”

They waited for Keith to be done working, which was just over half an hour. Keith didn’t exactly agree to going, but he ended up being metaphorically dragged by his boyfriend anyway—even though everyone could tell her was willing to go without Lance being dramatic about it. On the bus, Keith stood in front of Lance holding his crutches so that Lance could sit comfortably. She supposed when it got down to it, Keith was very romantic but kept it to himself under layers of sarcasm. Pidge found herself grinning, warmed by the silent softness of their relationship. She wondered what a relationship with Allura would really entail, looking up at Allura and watching her hair bounce as they were swayed by the bus, both of them standing. Allura’s eyes sparkled as she talked with Plaxum, who was standing on Allura’s other side. Shay, on the other hand, was standing on Plaxum’s other side and Hunk stood on Shay’s other side. Hunk and Shay were both silent blushing messes. Pidge’s eyes wandered back to Allura again, being captivated by her smile. How had Pidge wound up lucky enough to be with someone who was kind, funny, interesting, and such a good person to the core? Not to mention Allura’s good looks and rockin’ bod. Pidge was astonished for the millionth time that day at the thought that she was actually dating Allura now.

Of course, this gave way for anxious thoughts to flood in. Pidge found herself disheartened for most of the ride, worrying about not being a good girlfriend since she had never been in a relationship before or worrying that the relationship wouldn’t last long or end well if it did end. There were too many uncertainties for Pidge to feel secure. But, going to a house she’d practically called a second home at one point allowed her to control a little bit of her thoughts of feel more secure again, watching from a distance as Allura was introduced to the house and was bursting with excitement. That feeling of everything being right blossomed but was still missing something

“Come on, Pidge!”

Allura’s excited laughter blurred out all the other voices in the house at the moment, the warmth of Allura’s hands clasped around one of Pidge’s bringing that feeling into full bloom as she was pulled out of the entranceway and into the living room.

Everyone was sitting down, so Allura brought Pidge to sit down next to her on one of two couches in the room. The couches were in an L shape with space between them, facing a television placed at an angle in a corner. Surrounding the television were shelves of DVD’s, CD’s, and various game controls and systems. There was also a radio on top of one of the shelves. The room was very familiar to Pidge; it had been where Hunk, Lance, and her had done most of their gaming and watching together.

“So, who was the guy with Shiro?” Keith asked as he sat down next to Lance, having taken a minute to prop Lance’s crutches up against a wall and having had trouble making them stay.

“My brother,” Pidge groaned. Despite her tone towards the conversation, she made sure to keep her hand in one of Allura’s, making her cheerful on the inside.

Keith’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. “That was your brother?”

Pidge nodded. “People can usually tell, but he was wearing contacts for his date.” Pidge made a face of disgust. “Ugh, so cheesy.”

Keith made the same face, agreeing, “Definitely cheesy.”

“Aw,” Lance whined, “would you not dress up for me?”

Keith rolled his eyes. “Seems pointless.” He turned his head and  kissed Lance’s forehead quickly before pulling back and grinning at Lance “You don’t need to dress up to look nice. You always look nice. Do I need to dress up to look nice to you?”

Lance turned red, smiling like a kid in a candy store. “No, you don’t. Thanks for the compliment, babe.”

Pidge groaned at the cheesiness.

“Let’s get this show on the road!” Plaxum shouted excitedly as the startup screen for Just Dance 2016 began, picking up multiple remotes. “We’ll have to rotate remotes.”

“Ew,” Pidge said blankly. “This one has Justin Bieber.”

Plaxum’s face dropped. “Almost all of them do. Deal with it.”

“Just-Dance off!” Lance exclaimed, clapping his hands together and rubbing them. “Who’s going first?”

“I’ll go,” Hunk volunteered.

“M-Me too,” Shay suddenly spoke up, standing up to take a remote from Plaxum before anyone else could claim the first dance with Hunk.

Pidge glared over at Lance. “I thought the whole point of this was a battle between you and me.”

“But I’m tired,” Lance complained with a pout. “I need to sit for a bit.”

Pidge couldn’t help but snort as he took a remote from Plaxum that she’d held out. Even if Lance wasn’t going to stand for a while or do one-on-one with Pidge, he was going to play from the couch.

“I’ll play this round as well!” Allura offered, standing up. Her hand slipped out of Pidge’s, taking Pidge’s comfort with her. Then again, watching Allura dancing was heartwarming and filled the void left by the lack of a hand in hers.

“You win some, you lose some,” Pidge muttered to herself under her breath, easing into the back of the couch and grinning at Allura when she caught Allura glancing over her shoulder just before the song started.

The song seemed to be over in an instant.

“Is anyone getting hungry again?” Plaxum asked from her seat on the couch, as footsteps came downstairs.

Sofia poked her head into the room, smiling widely. Her ears seemingly tuned in as soon as hunger was mentioned. “Is anybody hungry? I could make some snacks for you to munch on while you play.”

“I’ll help,” Plaxum offered with a smile, getting up from her seat.

“Your turn,” Hunk panted, holding his remote out to Pidge.

Pidge took his remote while tapping his shoulder with her free hand; it was their way of tagging in and out. She took her place next to Allura, trying to make her glances unnoticeable even though she was pretty sure Allura had already noticed. And indeed Allura had. Allura winked down at Pidge, making Pidge jolt her head forward and stare the television down while cursing herself for staring.

Shay coughed, leaning over to catch her breath before laughing light-heartedly. “I’m going to sit this one out, too.” She lifted her head to look up at Keith.

Keith looked at Shay blankly. “No thanks.”

“If Keith’s not playing, I guess I’ll sit out.” Lance leaned back into the couch, putting his arms up while smirking at Pidge—who was already a blushing mess, putting the pieces together and not needing Lance to say anything. But Lance said it anyway. “How about you two do a duet?”

Pidge glared him down for a second before smirking herself. “Fine, but you two have to do a duet after us.”

Lance scoffed, his smirk opening into a smile. “Deal.”

Pidge hesitantly turned forward, looking to Allura for guidance. Allura winked at her again, which yet again made Pidge whip her head around to avoid eye contact, wanting to curl into a steaming ball and melt away.

“Are you alright with doing this one?” Allura asked Pidge, smiling excitedly at the television. “I haven’t heard it before.”

Pidge had. Pidge knew all the words. Pidge knew all the moves. Pidge was too embarrassed to do anything but nod.

_ Hey Mama _ by David Guetta, Nicki Minaj, and Bebe Rexha began playing and both Pidge and Allura ended up turning completely red. Pidge could  _ hear _ the internal laughter radiating off of Lance the entire time. Pidge only won because of she had the dance memorized, but she spent most of the dance looking at the awkwardly smiling and laughing Allura.

“That was so much fun!” Allura beamed, smiling at Pidge. “I loved it!”

Pidge grinned at her for a second before her entire face dropped and she looked at Lance. “Your turn, Losershooter.” She slumped down onto the end of the couch, sliding down in her seat a bit.

Doing a song with lyrics that contain quite a bit about sex wasn’t exactly the best thing to do on the first day. But, as Allura sat down in between Pidge and Hunk, she slipped her hand back into Pidge’s and sat as close as possible to lean her head on top of Pidge’s. Pidge’s worries eased, just as she did into Allura’s side while everyone quietly watched as Keith helped Lance up and kept his right side up—the side —while his crutch kept his left side up. Lance still had his remote, but Keith didn’t have one.

“Shouldn’t Keith have a remote?” Hunk pointed out.

“I’m holding Lance up,” Keith shot back, “so shouldn’t accommodations be made? Can’t this count as a couples dance?”

“They should get accommodations for their end of the deal, given the situation,” Shay quietly insisted with a grin, looking at Hunk, Pidge, and Allura from the other couch.

“That’s only fair,” Allura agreed.

Pidge groaned, jokingly saying with a grudge, “Fine.”

Everyone came to laugh a little. Lance chose his song while everyone was busy chatting and he pressed ‘Dance’.

“It’s razzle-dazzle time!” Lance exclaimed, putting his remote in the air and nearly making him and Keith fall over.

“Watch it,” Keith grumbled.

“Sorry,” Lance somewhat-apologized, pouting but barely being able to keep the pout without laughing.

Pidge was grinning. Until the song started. Her face dropped and she commented, “How much of a weeb can you be?”

“Admiring the music of Japan is not weeb-ish,” Lance defended as he moved his arm and swayed with Keith holding him up, following the movements of the blue-haired girl on screen. None other than Hatsune Miku. A Vocaloid.

Pidge and Hunk both narrowed their eyes. “Yes, it is,” they droned in unison.

“Leave him be,” Shay giggled. “Let him have his fun.”

“He doesn’t deserve that fun,” Plaxum called from the kitchen.

“See?” Pidge added just to be annoying.

“Shut up,” Lance groaned, still dancing despite all their insults.

Everyone laughed a little and quieted down as Lance finished his match. He ended with a smile, giving Keith a kiss on the cheek.

Lance shouted without looking away from the television, “Alright, who’s next?”

“Hunk, do you want another turn?” Shay questioned, holding her remote up to her face.

Hunk, of course, blushed and smiled while stammering out a quick, “Sure!” and waltzing over to take the remote. He stood on the other side of Keith so that there was room for two more people on Lance’s other side.

“Can I join a match?” Sofia asked, coming into the room and grinning at her son.

“It’s on, mamá,” Lance sneered over his shoulder.

“Here, you can take my turn!” Allura bubbled, getting up from the couch and walking over to Sofia to hand Sofia her remote.

“Thank you!” Sofia bubbled back, taking the remote and taking her spot next to Lance.

An evil grin came to Allura’s face, pausing before sitting down. “Oh, Lance, Plaxum hasn’t played yet.”

“What was that?” Plaxum called from the kitchen, coming in with a plate of assorted cheese, sandwich meats, and crackers.

Pidge nodded at Allura, Allura sitting down while she got up,  and then smirked at Plaxum. “You’re going to play this round.” She walked over slowly, holding her remote out.

Plaxum glared at her. “No thanks, I’m good.”

“Oh, come now, Plaxum,” Sofia commanded cheerily. “Come play with us!”

Plaxum had no choice. The word of Sofia was law. Plaxum took Pidge’s remote with a sigh and joined Sofia at her side. The look on Lance’s face implied the torture was not done for Plaxum. Lance chose the song again. Uptown Funk began playing.

Plaxum groaned. “I hate this one.”

“Be nice,” Sofia encouraged while the dancing commenced.

Pidge sat back down in her spot, being met with an arm around her shoulder and a head put on hers again while she was pulled into someone. She grinned, taking in the scent she hadn’t even realized she’d become accustomed to and settling into the body she’d been pulled against. She watched the match, which mainly consisted of Plaxum complaining and Sofia having no mercy on either of her three opponents. The match ended with everyone laughing, even Plaxum.

Lance sighed happily. “Boy, that was tiring. I need to sit now.” Keith nodded in acknowledgment, then slowly helping Lance turn around and heading for the couch Shay had been on.

“That was so good, Lancelot! I’m so proud of you for doing so much!” Sofia congratulated as she looked at the scores. “You only lost by 200 points.” She smirked at Lance.

The room went silent, with eyes glued to Lance. Lance gave them a weird look. “What?”

“Lancelot?” Hunk questioned.

“Yeah, that’s his real name,” Keith responded as he and Lance approached the couch, deadpan as always—until he got his shin hit with a crutch as Lance sat down.

“Oh, shit, get ready to be murder witnesses,” Plaxum joked.

Everyone laughed lightly.

“That’s such a cool name,” Shay beamed, sitting back down herself.

“It suits you,” Hunk added as he also sat back down.

“It’s lovely,” Allura also added.

Pidge couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. “So Lance is just your nickname?”

Lance groaned, glaring at the ceiling. “I was hoping none of you would ever find out.”

“I like it.” Keith grinned at Lance.

Lance looked down from the ceiling and grinned back, pausing before softly saying, “Thanks.”

“Who’s ready for snacks?” Plaxum questioned.

“I am!” Hunk and Shay exclaimed excitedly in unison. They both jumped out of shock, staring at each other before smiling and looking away. As always.

“Babe, can you help me up?” Lance asked, of course getting a nod and being helped up.

Shay, Hunk, Lance, and Keith followed Plaxum to the kitchen to grab snacks. The usual shenanigans commenced. But Pidge and Allura were absent. Allura stayed put, with her head on Pidge’s head, so Pidge was stuck. To be fair, Pidge wasn’t hungry so she didn’t have a need to leave the living room. She found herself enjoying having the shenanigans in the background and being alone with Allura. Silence sat for a good few seconds before anything was said; and it wasn’t Pidge who spoke up.

“I like your real name too, you know,” Allura whispered to Pidge.

Allura whispering even though they were alone made the comment all the more special, as though it was so precious to Allura that it could only be uttered to Pidge. Pidge turned red and curled further into Allura out of instinct. Allura giggled and put a hand in Pidge’s hair, running it through the knots. The silence that swooped in was comforting. The distant voices in the kitchen reminded her that there wasn’t anything to be unsettled by or worried about. The arm holding her and the hand going through her hair reminded her that she was finally over crushing and being awkward. Everything was calm, happy.

And that was all she could ask for.


	48. "We're going shopping."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oops i didn't finish 49 until today so idk if 50-53 will be ready tomorrow but i will try!!  
> for now here's 48 and 49
> 
> song: "The One" by Kodaline

There Pidge was, watching from the station with a blurry Matt from her side. Somewhere in her mind she was telling herself to wake up and not deal with this nightmare of a memory again, but she couldn’t shake it. The voices in the room overpowered her own thoughts, people yelling coordinates and stats. Their dad’s voice came through, Pidge’s heart easing. But it quickly clenched, her thoughts regaining power and attempting to wake up knowing what was coming. Her thoughts held no power, slowly being overpowered again. The seconds ticked by, the event growing closer and closer.

Until buzzing saved her. Oddly enough.

She groaned as the buzzing deeper into her ears and blared, her eyes slowly opening. She slid her phone off of her bedside table and slowly deciphered what was happening with her groggy eyes.

_ Incoming call from:  _ **_Goddess_ **

Pidge groaned, answering with a croak of a cough. “I know we’re dating now, but why the fuck are you calling me at 8 in the morning?”

“We are going on a date,” Allura said into the phone with a matter-of-fact attitude.

Pidge groaned. “A date? This early in the morning?”

“We’re usually at school already by this hour,” Allura pointed out. “Now get dressed or I’ll come in and help you.”

Pidge’s eyes popped out of her head. “You’ll  _ what? _ ”

“I’ll help you get dressed,” Allura repeated. Her smirk could be heard in her voice.

Pidge’s eyes narrowed at the ceiling while she muttered, “How would you even do that?”

“I’m outside of your house.” Allura’s smirk must have grown while Pidge’s eyes popped again. “Don’t doddle. Love you.” Allura hung up.

“Doddle,” Pidge grumbled. “How British.”

She sighed, putting her phone back down on her bedside table and rolling out of bed. She threw on an old t-shirt and some sweatpants, grabbing her jacket and hat on her way out. “I’m heading out to meet Allura,” she yelled as she slipped her sneakers on.

She heard her mom get up from presumably what was her spot on the couch in the living room, along with another pair of feet. Two heads stuck out from the living room, one smirking and one beaming while near tears.

“My daughter is going on a date with her girlfriend,” her mom sniffled while the smirking head next to her snickered.

Pidge narrowed her eyes. She hadn’t told her mom about Allura yet, and there was only one other possible suspect. A shoe hit Matt in the face, getting a surprised gasp and then a groan from him as he rubbed his face.

“Traitor,” Pidge hissed. “I didn’t tell her about your situation, but you told her about mine?”

Their mom’s eyes widened, shifting to Matt. “You’re dating someone, too?”

“Oh yeah,” Pidge drew out as she smirked herself, “and you wouldn’t believe who it is.” Matt gave her a stare of threatened death, but Pidge’s smirk only grew. “It seems Shiro and him have been going out for a month but didn’t start coming out till last week.”

Their mom gasped. “You’re dating Shiro?!”

Matt’s stare of death narrowed. Pidge let out a small, accomplished scoff.

“Well, anyway, congratulations to both of you,” their mom sang before asking, “Do you need anything before you go?”

Pidge had money and her pens and pencils in her coat pocket from the day before, so she was all set. She gave her mom a nod. “I’m good. I’ll be home after my midterm.”

“Have fun,” Matt teased.

“Text me if you need anything,” her mom added, her beaming smile returning.

Pidge smiled back with a nod. She opened the door and stepped out, finding no sight of Allura. Until she heard a small giggle, her head whipping to her left and finding none other than a dark-skinned, silver-haired giraffe leaning against the side of her house.

Pidge narrowed her eyes. “So, what are we doing?”

Allura stood up straight and smiled down at her with twinkling eyes. “We’re going shopping.”

“Hell no, we’re not,” Pidge laughed with a grin. She was met with a glare and a pout. Pidge’s face dropped as she sighed. “We’re going shopping.”

“Yay!” Allura exclaimed, clapping her hands before wrapping them around one of Pidge’s and pulling her down the steps. “Let’s hurry!”

Pidge didn’t even get to ask what they were shopping for. She had to run to keep up with Allura’s skipping, before both of them had to sprint to meet the bus rounding the corner. Allura pulled Pidge up the steps and into a seat with no words spoken, placing their hands on her thigh as the bus began moving. Pidge took the opportunity at hand and opened her mouth. “So, what are we shopping for?”

“You’ll see,” Allura giggled.

 

Dresses.

They were shopping for dresses.

Allura was rummaging through the dresses and talking about them like Pidge had never heard her talk about anything before, smiling as she did whenever she was overly excited. Pidge on the other hand silently stared off into space with her wish of death written all over her face. It had only been a solid minute since they stepped foot in the mall and Allura was already serious about this.

“What do you think of this one?” Allura asked, holding a dress up to herself. “Would it look good on me?”

“Why are we dress shopping?” Pidge grumbled.

“For the ball, of course!” Allura put the dress back and kept looking through the rack she was currently standing in front of.

“No way. I’m not going to the ball,” Pidge replied sternly.

Allura pouted, still looking through the dresses. “The entire group is going. I want you to be there.”

Pidge groaned. “I hate large, loud crowds.”

“Don’t worry,” Allura reassured, dropping her hands and walking up to Pidge. She got close and cupped Pidge’s face, giving her forehead a quick kiss before pulling away and grinning down at Pidge. She spoke softly. “If you let me be your date, you can focus on me instead of the crowd, and I’ll focus on you, too.”

Pidge hadn’t been redder in her life. She had to gulp before saying anything, and she still couldn’t stop herself from stammering. “Yeah… O-Okay…”

“Good!” Allura giggled before going back to her dress searching.

Pidge simply stared in silence, still very red and overtaken by butterflies in her stomach. She hadn’t had butterflies in a long time, which made everything in her drop, annoyed. She didn’t want to deal with butterflies all over again. She gave a small groan before letting her eyes wander aimlessly. That was, until her eyes passed by something she snapped them back to look at again. Everything in her lifted, a smile coming to her face as she rushed away—over to a section of the store next to the dresses.

“Pidge? Where are you going?” Allura called, running after Pidge.

Pidge stopped, looking as though she could burst from excitement. In front of her were racks of Voltron-related shirts, pants, and sweatshirts, along with some smaller things like socks and pins. It was an entire Voltron merchandise section, some from the old movie and some for the upcoming show.

“I like J.C. Penny a lot more now,” she commented as Allura stepped up to her side.

Allura giggled. “Well, isn’t this lovely!”

Pidge wasn’t listening, too busy going through the available sweatshirts.

Allura’s face dropped with a sigh. “Can’t we come back to this after we find dresses?”

Pidge’s smile didn’t waver, nor did her giddy-fangirl chuckling. “But why would I do that when I could use my money for Voltron merch?”

Allura sighed again, putting her hands on her hips. “ _ After  _ we find dresses.” Pidge looked at her with a pout. Allura’s response was grabbing Pidge’s wrist and dragging the pouting fangirl away. “We can come back later.”

“But I don’t want a dress—”

“Then do you want to find a nice shirt and some pants?” Allura offered, a grin coming back to her face.

Pidge groaned, narrowing her eyes. “I want Voltron merch, not fancy clothes I’ll only wear once.”

Allura clicked her tongue and glared at her, letting go of her wrist and instead interlocking their fingers while she looked through the dresses again one-handed. “Then it’s on me again.”

“Where do you get all this money?” Pidge muttered under her breath.

“I had a job back in England,” Allura explained. “I’m going to look for another job here sometime in the spring.”

Pidge blinked at her. She could see it. Allura would be an amazing waitress or store clerk with the way she radiated care and positivity. Pidge shook her head of the thought, making sure to ask, “What kind of job did you have?”

“I worked at the police station,” Allura answered. “I’d run errands, copy papers, make tea and coffee—all the little jobs to help the policemen’s days a bit better.”

Pidge’s eyes widened, her brain taking a second to remind her that Alfor was a policeman with high standing in Britain. Pidge grinned at Allura. “That’s cool.”

Allura beamed, blushing a little. Pidge caught on and blushed herself. Maybe she wasn’t the only one in the relationship getting butterflies.

Allura cleared her throat. “So, do you see anything you like?”

Pidge narrowed her eyes, peering at the rack. “Aren’t these expensive?”

“Oh, forget about the price. It’s on me, remember?” Allura insisted.

Pidge shook her head at Allura. “There’s no way I could let you pay for an expensive dress.”

Allura gave Pidge a little push on the back, bringing Pidge closer to the closest rack. “If you don’t see something you like here, there’s more racks and lots of other stores. And we’ve got time, so don’t rush and buy something you’re going to hate.”

Pidge rushed through them quickly. She then shrugged at Allura. “Guess I couldn’t find anything I like. So how about going back to the—”

“How about this one?” Allura held up a floor-length, gold-sequin dress.

Pidge scrunched her face. “That might look good on you, but that’d be ugly on me.”

Allura sighed. “I happen to disagree, but alright.” She put it back on the rack and pulled another one out. “How about this one then?”

Pidge gave her a stern look. “A blue ball gown? With a beaded top? Not happening.”

“But it’d be so cute on you!” Allura whined. “At least try it on.”

Pidge sighed, grudgingly giving her a nod.

“Try this one, too.” Allura added a floor-length dress that was pretty plain. But it was bright pink.

Pidge groaned.

“And,” Allura drew out as she sifted through the dresses quickly again. She pulled out a seafoam green dress that would be above the knees but not very short thanks to its puffy skirt, white fabric sticking out the bottom. It had forest green straps and a bow. She smiled at the dress and then smiled at Pidge. “This one!”

Pidge liked the colors but cringed at the thought of having to shave when she hadn’t in months. She also didn’t like the idea of changing in front of Allura again. But whether she liked it or not, it was clear that that’s what Allura was dragging her to next. And of course, she didn’t get to skip out on any of the dresses.

Pidge groaned as they stepped into a room, Allura closing the door behind her.

“Don’t forget to take your bra off,” Allura ever so kindly reminded Pidge. “These all have built-in supports.”

Pidge groaned again as she turned away from Allura and got undressed. She hesitated taking her shirt off, glancing behind her. Allura was busy typing away on her phone. God knew what Allura was typing at god speed for, but it allowed pidge to force herself to quickly unlatch her bra and slip it off before ripping the blue ball gown off its hook and stepping into it. There was no way in hell she was okay with Allura seeing her chest yet. She had enough anxiety around it already; she didn’t need Allura seeing it when they’d only been dating for two days on top of that. She quickly pulled the dress up and held it with one arm, taking a deep breath and accepting what she had to do—even though it made every inch of her skin burn. She nervously peered over her shoulder and cleared her throat, getting Allura to look up from her phone and stop typing. Pidge opened her mouth to say what she needed to, but Allura jumped out of her seat and excitedly closed the space between them without Pidge saying a word. Allura delicately brought the zipper up Pidge’s back, the faint feel of Allura’s fingers brushing her skin while pulling the zipper up making her more red than she already was.

Of course, as soon as the zipper was up, Pidge took her arm away. And that was a mistake, but Pidge realized too late as the top of the dress slid down her front, into the layers and layers of tulle that made the puffed skirt.

Allura squeaked and covered her eyes before laughing. “I’m not looking,” she insisted through her laughter.

Pidge lost the color in her face while the situation processed, her eyes slowly widening as she noticed in the mirror that everything from her belly button up was exposed. Pidge eagerly grabbed the top of the dress and brought it up again, holding her arm tight to her stomach to keep the top up while she began hyperventilating.

Allura’s laughter quickly stopped. “Pidge,” Allura quietly reassured, “it’s okay. I didn’t see anything. The dress doesn’t fit you; no big deal.”

Pidge was ready to yell. It  _ was _ a big deal. At least, to Pidge it was. The strapless dress was too big for her chest and had plummeted into the skirt in front of her girlfriend. Pidge cursed whatever higher beings were laughing at her right then and cleared her throat again before talking slowly. “Could you… turn around again?” She looked over her shoulder.

Allura hummed, sitting back down and covering her eyes. “Of course! Are you going to try the pink one now?”

Pidge sighed as her response, complying. She stepped out of the blue ball gown without even unzipping the back, unzipping it once the dress was off and putting it back on its hanger. She slid the pink dress on. She didn’t even let go of the front. She didn’t need to zip it up to know this one wasn’t going to fit, either. She sighed again and slid it off, putting it back on its hanger.

“What’s happening?” Allura questioned. She was still covering her eyes with her hands, her head hung so that if she could see through her hands all she would see was her lap.

Pidge didn’t reply, just took the green one off its hanger. Allura had already seen Pidge’s unshaved legs, but she was anxious to get it on and decide to show Allura or not after the ball gown incident. She wanted to be over with it quickly. Pidge gave a little huff to herself as mental preparation for the dress to fail, too. She pulled it over her head and situated the straps before reaching behind herself for the zipper. She closed her eyes as she zipped herself up. She had some struggles zipping it up by herself, but she did it and kept her eyes closed the whole time. She let her hands fall and took a deep breath before opening her eyes.

There was a moment of silence, which Allura broke. “Can I look yet?”

Without waiting for a response from Pidge, Allura lifted her head and a finger to see, then slowly dropping her hands as her eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

Pidge’s own eyes were wide and her jaw was dropped slightly. The two sat in silence for another few seconds, taking in the sight. The dress fit perfectly and didn’t look too plain or too childish. The straps comfortably rested on her shoulders, the top fit just right around her chest and stomach with no gaping, and the skirt’s puffiness and the bow added an accent.

“This,” Pidge slowly spoke, still taken back. “This is the one.”


	49. "You're already a sugar mommy."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> song: "Hills To Climb" by Tim Meyers

“You’ve only seen the dresses on one of the racks in one store,” Allura badgered, walking behind Pidge as Pidge left the changing rooms area to put the blue and pink dresses back on the rack.

“Nothing can one-up this dress,” Pidge badgered back.

They’d been arguing over this for a minute straight now—after Pidge said the dress was the one, as Pidge got back into her own clothes and Allura covered her eyes, while they left the changing room.

“How would you know?” Allura impatiently questioned. “You haven’t seen dresses in other stores.”

“I don’t need to,” Pidge replied sharply. “I like this one and that’s that.”

Allura sighed. “Alright, fine, if you really like it that much… How much is it, by the way?”

Pidge found the price tag. Everything in her dropped. She looked up at Allura and shook her head. “You’re not buying me something this expensive.”

“Yes I am,” Allura said simply.

Pidge sighed. “I’m not going to let you do that.”

Pidge reached her hand out, ready to put the dress back on the rack. Another hand clasped around her arm, stopping her. Pidge glared at Allura.

Allura gave her a gentle frown in return. “You were so excited about this dress, and now you’re going to ditch it because of the price?”

Pidge rolled her eyes, avoiding eye contact. “You were telling me to look in other stores anyway.” She went to move her arm again, but Allura tightened her grip to stop her again.

“Not because of the price,” Allura explained softly. She paused while Pidge looked up at her. A grin slowly formed on Allura’s face. “You look distraught, thinking about putting that dress back.” Allura took her hand off of Pidge’s arm and instead held her hand out. “Let me buy it for you.”

Pidge sighed, rolling her eyes again and reluctantly handing her the hanger. Allura took the dress and searched for the price tag, holding it and reading it. Her eyes widened.

“$40? This isn’t expensive at all!” Allura beamed. “You have a really good deal here. Even if you find something better to wear to the ball, at least buy this as a special occasion dress.”

Pidge rolled her eyes. She couldn’t help but halfly grin at Allura’s excitement. And of course, she had to make a joke. “How rich are you exactly? Are you going to be a sugar mommy?”

Allura simply grinned back. “I wouldn’t mind being one if you were my sugar baby.”

Pidge choked while Allura broke out laughing. Pidge cleared her throat. “Anyway, aren’t you going to try on some dresses for yourself?”

Allura shook her head as she began walking towards the cash registers, Pidge following close behind. “No, I didn’t like anything I saw here enough to bother trying it on.”

Pidge hummed but paused before saying anything, also stopping in her tracks and backtracking a few steps before doing a 180 and walking back to the Voltron section to look at the sweatshirts and t-shirts. It took Allura a few seconds to realize where Pidge had gone, looking around frantically to spot the short teenager in the Voltron section. She giggled and skipped over while Pidge kept going through the shirts.

Pidge gasped, pulling a shirt off its rack. It had single-color, knees-up outlines of the characters posing. She smiled at Allura, holding the shirt out. “I’m buying this one.”

Allura took it with a small hum, looking at it for a second and then smiling at Pidge. “No you’re not. I am.”

Allura took off before Pidge could object. Pidge narrowed her eyes and groaned but followed Allura to the cash registers, hoping she could somehow convince Allura to let her pay.

“You’re already getting the dress and you spent so much on me the last time we were here,” Pidge pointed out as they waited in line. “At least let me get the shirt for myself.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Allura gleefully bubbled with a small giggle, smiling down at Pidge. “Why do you think I spent so much on you last time?”

Pidge glared up at her. “I’m not poor. I can buy myself things.”

“But I love you,” Allura continued her joyous argumentation.

Realization spread across Pidge’s face. “I can’t believe it.” She pointed up at Allura. “You bought all those things because you were already in love.” Pidge gripped her hair while looking away from Allura and muttered, “I’m so stupid!”

“You are,” Allura sighed before going back to smiling. “I want to buy you things. Just let me.”

Pidge’s face scrunched. “You don’t want to be a sugar mommy. You’re already a sugar mommy.”

Allura giggled again. “Only for you.”

Pidge grimaced with a groan, stepping away before breaking her character and laughing. She grinned at Allura. “You really don’t need to buy it.”

“I’m going to whether you like it or not,” Allura still bubbled.

Pidge sighed. Her phone buzzed at the same time, Pidge taking it out of her jacket pocket as a silent white flag to Allura. Allura began proudly humming while Pidge read the messages she was getting.

**_Cookie Monster:_ ** _ hey um,, _

**_Cookie Monster:_ ** _ I need some advice _

Pidge smirked at her phone.

Allura snorted, leaning in a bit. “What’s that look for?”

Pidge looked up with an even bigger smirk, knowing she could get more help. “Hunk needs advice.”

Allura smirked herself. “Is this about Shay?”

Pidge’s face went blank and she shrugged, looking back down at her phone and beginning to type. “I don’t know yet. Probably” She then smirked up at Allura as she hit ‘send’.

_ About what? _

The cashier called them up. Pidge ignored everything, eagerly watching as the bubble popped up to indicate that Hunk was typing and watching the three dots until his message finally sent.

_ I think I want to ask Shay out to the ball _

_ but like _

_ I want it to be clear that I want a real relationship, not just a date to the ball, you know? _

_ any suggestions on how to achieve that? _

Pidge smirked and looked up from her phone again. Allura was just finishing up signing for her credit call as Pidge looked up, so Pidge felt fine updating her. “It is Shay. He wants to ask her to the ball as his way to formally ask her out, but he doesn’t know how to make sure she knows he wants a relationship.” Pidge paused to think, groaning and looking away even though Allura wasn’t even looking at her yet. “I don’t actually have any ideas that would help him,” Pidge admitted under her breath.

“Huh,” Allura said before humming pensively. “Why doesn’t he come up with a line that combines the two somehow? It  _ is _ a Valentine’s Day themed ball. Making a cheesy line shouldn’t be hard.” Allura quickly thanked the cashier and took the bag, continuing again as Pidge led her out of the store. “We could ask Lance for ideas, too, if we can’t come up with any.”

Pidge could already hear Lance giving bad pickup lines as suggestions. She shook her head and grinned. “I’m sure we can come up with something.”

They walked out of J.C. Penny into the mall, running off to Van Maur to look at dresses. Pidge nearly crumbled in the doorway with how expensive the store was. Pidge awkwardly stood off the side while Allura scanned through their options, trying to distract herself from feeling weird in such an expensive store by coming up with ways Hunk could say what he wanted to.

“He could say something about how he’s been crushing on her for a while and was wondering if she would go to the ball with him,” Pidge offered while hesitantly looking around. “Do you think that makes it clear he wants a real relationship?”

“Mm, I’m not sure. It sounds a little odd. How about something cutesy like a play on the Roses Are Red poem?” Allura suggested while still going through the multitude of overly priced dresses.

“Ugh,” Pidge groaned. “That’s cheesy, not cute.”

Allura sighed. “Well then, how about something personalized with a pun?”

Pidge hummed. “Hunk does like puns. But what would he use?”

Allura looked over her shoulder with sparkling eyes, her white smile blinding. “Something about a flower maybe?”

Pidge gave her a look that said exactly what she was going to say. “No.”

Allura pouted. “Why not?”

Pidge sighed, putting a hand to her forehead. “Nothing having to do with flowers.”

“What’s wrong with flowers?” Allura whined.

“They’re too cliche,” Pidge grumbled.

Allura huffed and turned back around, returning to sorting through the dresses. “Fine, then. You come up with a theme.”

Pidge sighed and the two of them fell into a silence, Pidge caught up in thinking of a theme. She wasn’t going to let Allura win this with flowers. Thinking competitively, she angrily hissed under her breath. “Bi giraffe.”

Allura whipped her head around, glaring. “What was that?”

Pidge put on an innocent face and raised an eyebrow in confusion, trying to act as though she said nothing. “I didn’t say anything.”

Allura glared at her for another second before sighing and going back to grinning while looking at dresses. They moved around the store in more silence. Pidge was having trouble finding a good theme. Allura was having trouble finding a dress she liked enough to care to try it on. In other words, the trip was moving slowly.

They walked out of Van Maur empty-handed. Allura smiled down at Pidge. “Where to next?”

Pidge took her to Sears. They found nothing. Allura grinned down at Pidge. “Where to next?”

Pidge took her to Express. They found nothing. Allura blankly stared into space. “Where to next?”

Pidge took her to Lord & Taylor. They found nothing. Allura sighed. “Where to next?”

Pidge shrugged, looking up at her with an apologetic grin. “Want to go grab drinks before finding somewhere else?”

Allura grinned. “Thank you. That would be lovely.”

Pidge smiled and started off towards the food court down the hall.

Allura followed behind her silently for a minute, then smirking and leaning in to tease Pidge. “So, have you thought of any other themes?”

Pidge groaned, looking forward as she walked. “I haven’t liked anything I’ve thought of yet.”

Allura snickered and straightened, looking forward herself. “Looks like flowers may be the theme.”

“I’ll think of something,” Pidge snarled. “Just give me time.”

They made it to the food court.

Allura gave a small gasp. “Everything smells so delicious!” she gushed.

Pidge giggled and grinned up at Allura. “Do you want to grab brunch?”

Allura smiled down at Pidge. “That sounds wonderful.”

Pidge looked around. There was Subway, Taco Bell, Burger King, and Charlie’s—along with two non-chain places, sushi and pizza. Pidge looked back up at Allura. “Do you know what you want?”

“Taco Bell,” Allura answered instantaneously with no doubt.

Pidge’s face dropped. “Taco Hell?”

Allura gave her a puzzled look. “‘Hell’?”

“That’s what my family calls it,” Pidge grumbled, looking around again.

Allura sighed, then whining, “I’ve never had it before. Can’t I try it?”

Pidge sighed, too, but couldn’t help grinning at Allura. “Fine. It’s your funeral.”

Allura giggled while smiling, grabbing Pidge’s hand and interlocking their fingers as they walked up to the Taco Bell line. “Isn’t it your funeral, too?” she commented as they walked over.

Pidge shrugged. “I’m used to it. If we have to choose between it and McDonald’s when we’re in a rush, we choose Taco Hell.”

Allura turned red and shushed her, anxiously looking around. She then snapped her head back and whispered, “Don’t say that when we’re in line!”

Pidge snorted, smirking. “No one’s listening, Allura. Chill out.”

Allura looked around anxiously again and then sighed, easing. But she still glared at Pidge. “It’s rude.”

Pidge groaned at the ceiling before glaring back at Allura. “It’s just an inside joke, and again, no one’s listening.”

Allura huffed, pushing her mouth into a pout. “You should still be careful and respectful.”

Pidge grumbled. “Okay,  _ mom. _ ”

Allura glared for a second before smirking and leaning in close. She spoke in a low tone. “That’s mommy to you.”

Pidge choked again, turning red.

Allura hummed, satisfied with Pidge’s embarrassment; Allura wasn’t satisfied enough to stop there, though. “I may have to punish you later.”

Pidge groaned for the millionth time that day. “Can you not? That joke is too embarrassing out in public.”

Allura’s smirk was wiped away, a gentle, innocent grin taking its place as she giggled. “But it’s more fun that way.”

Pidge wished the line would move faster.

Allura squeezed her hand, gently reassuring, “It was merely a joke.”

Pidge narrowed her eyes at her. “See my point?”

Allura sighed. “Alright, I get it. I’m sorry I was bossy.”

“And hypocritical,” Pidge added for her, getting another glare.

They exchanged glares for a second, angered electricity sparking between them before they both began giggling together. They got to the counter, gave their orders, paid with Allura’s credit card because Allura beat Pidge to it, waited, and found a seat.

“What do we tell Hunk?” Allura questioned as she began unwrapping her first taco.

Pidge sighed, unwrapping her own first taco. “I’m not really sure.”

Allura paused to take a bite of her taco. She swallowed and went on. “Flowers are out of the question?”

Pidge groaned, taking her own first bite and gulping it down. “Yep.”

Allura sighed. “What have you thought of, then?” She took another bite of her taco.

Pidge shrugged, swallowing another bite. “Well, it could be something cheesy that’s Cupid related. The ball’s theme is Valentine’s.”

“He could ask her out to two dates at the same time!” Allura bubbled.

Pidge raised an eyebrow. “How would he do that?” She kept her eyebrow raised as she finished her taco and started her second.

“He could say something about both asking her to the ball and asking her out for Valentine’s Day,” Allura elaborated, finishing her own first and starting her second.

Pidge hummed, nodding while chewing her bite. “That’s a good idea. How would you say it, though?”

Allura hummed pensively as well. “I’m not really sure.”

Pidge and Allura exchanged looks, Pidge’s face dropping.

“We are not asking Lance.”   
“I think we should!” Allura gave her puppy-eyes. “Please?”

Pidge paused before groaning and whipping her phone out. “Fine. And not because of your pouting, but because I can’t think of anything either.” She sipped her drink angrily as she took her phone out. It was already 12:30. “Shit,” Pidge mumbled, making sure to quickly shoot Lance a message.

“What’s wrong?” Allura asked while Pidge typed away.

_ Hey, we need a way to ask someone out for both the ball and Valentine’s Day _

_ Something Cupid themed _

Pidge shoved her phone away once both messages were sent. She looked up at Allura to answer her question. “It’s already 12:30 and our next midterm starts at 1.”

“Shit is right,” Allura agreed, shooting up out of her seat and grabbing their tray.

Pidge followed behind as Allura went to throw out their garbage, sipping her small drink dry before throwing it out too. They rushed out of the food court and back towards J.C. Penny. Along the way, Allura gasped and stepped over to a window, staring for a moment. Pidge halted and walked over to see what Allura was looking at.

Allura pointed and looked over her shoulder. “Aren’t those flowers adorable?”

Pidge looked where Allura was pointing. In Claire’s, there was a pair of pastel pink earrings with fake gems in the middle. Pidge looked at Allura’s gleaming face that quickly soured.

Allura cleared her throat, stepping away from the window. “We don’t have time. Come on.”

“One second.” Pidge walked into the store without Allura, rushing over to the earrings, grabbing them, taking out her money, and purchasing them. She rushed back out and held out the small bag to a dazed Allura. “Here. My way of getting back at you.”

Allura scrunched her face in confusion, not taking the bag. “What do you mean? What are you getting back at me for?”

Pidge grinned widely. “You paid for my stuff and bought me all the clothes before—and you paid for lunch today. But we didn’t end up finding you a dress.” She shook the bag a little to encourage Allura to take it. “This is the least I can do.”

Allura’s confusion melted into a heart-warming grin, taking the bag with care as though it were the most precious thing she’d ever been given. She looked at the bag and then looked at Pidge, her blue eyes twinkling. “Thank you so much.”

Pidge waved her hand. “Don’t thank me. This is just for now.” She smirked and shoved her hands in the pockets of her sweatshirt. “I’ll pay you back fully someday.”

Allura grinned and put the small bag in an inside pocket of her coat, pulling the sleeves on. In one fell swoop, she stepped closer to Pidge, took Pidge’s coat from around her waist, and draped it around Pidge’s shoulders as she kissed Pidge’s forehead. “Let’s not be late,” she whispered with her lips still brushing Pidge’s forehead.

Pidge grinned with burning cheeks like a middle-schooler. She couldn’t resist the giddiness of the reawaken butterflies in her stomach. She slipped her arms into the coat’s pockets before looking up to find Allura holding out the J.C. Penny bag. Pidge reached out to take it.

“Last one to the bus stop is a rotten egg quadrupled!” Allura yelled as Pidge took the bag, sprinting off.

Pidge blinked before running after her, yelling, “Hey! That wasn’t fair!” She then muttered to herself while laughing, “As usual.”

The bouncing waves of silver in front of her were close but untouchable, laughter coming from both of them as Pidge failed to catch up. They sprinted through J.C. Penny and then down the sidewalk, to the nearest bus stop. One was supposed to come in a few minutes and be able to take them to the bus stop in front of their school, quick enough for them to make it to their midterm. It was a public school, after all, so it had its own bus stop.

Allura stopped at the bus stop, smiling at Pidge as she caught up. The both of them panted and laughed, smiling at each other.

“You know,” Pidge started through her broken breathing, “quadrupled only means multiplied by four, not to the fourth power.”

Allura laughed harder, embracing Pidge. Although it was sudden, it was gentle. Allura rested her chin on Pidge’s head with a small, tranquil hum. “You’re so smart.”

Pidge’s butterflies grew, as did the redness of her face. It was cold out, so it would have made sense for her face to be red anyway. But she didn’t care. She didn’t mind that she was completely red in front of Allura from childish giddiness and embarrassment. She surprised herself by not caring about the butterflies or her blushing. She grinned to herself, happy with how comfortable she was feeling.

Pidge nuzzled her face into Allura’s coat and wrapped her own arms around Allura. They stood like that for the next minute, waiting on the bus.


End file.
